Saudi Arabia’s gigantic Red Sea Project is now under way. Work has started on the entertainment project that will span 50 islands as the Kingdom looks to build up its tourism sector in the economy.
The project is designed to rival Dubai and Disney in its objectives and will incorporate a massive nature reserve and heritage sites. At present a base camp has been established on the coast close to the southern part of the project that will cover 28,000 square metres. The camp will be the nerve-centre of the entire undertaking, initially setting into place the infrastructure that will be needed to service the project.
The Red Sea Development Company last week went on record as saying that the base camp is ‘an important milestone’ for the undertaking. “It takes us another step closer to our goal of creating a truly exquisite tourism destination on the Red Sea coast,” said John Pagano, CEO of the company.
He added: “The remote nature of the site, which is an important part of its appeal as a destination, creates logistical challenges for the support of large-scale development and the base camp is an essential first step.”
Roads, bridges, jetties, utilities all figure in the initial work, plus housing for the workforce for up top 10,000 people. It is all part of the KSA bid to reduce its dependence on oil. The government-funded Public Investment Fund manages $250bn of assets, building Neom, the $500bn futuristic city on the borders with Egypt and Jordan.
It is also responsible for the Qiddiya entertainment development close to Riyadh that will host theme parks, F1 motor sport track and safari park, with Six Flags already committed.
