Western Saudi Arabia has the biggest real estate development plan at $692 billion
A new report by real estate consultancy Knight Frank estimates the total value of giga projects launched by Saudi Arabia under its Vision 2030 economic diversification program at $1.25 trillion.
The report, titled ‘Saudi Arabia’s Construction Landscape – H1 2024’, highlights the transformative impact of these new super-cities on the Kingdom’s urban landscape.
Amar Hussain, Associate Partner, Research, ME, stated, “With a value of over $1.25 trillion launched but not yet delivered, giga projects are undoubtedly transforming the Kingdom’s urban landscape. Arguably one of, if not the most expansive, real estate development programs ever seen in the world is gathering pace in Saudi Arabia as the 2030 deadline nears to realize Vision 2030.”
According to Hussain, the planned volume of residential units within the country has risen to 660,000 units, marking a 30 percent increase in the last 12 months, while the office pipeline remains steady at 6 million square meters (sqm).
“In the commercial market, plans are currently underway for 5.3 million sqm of retail space and an additional 320,000 hotel rooms. This will contribute to Saudi Arabia’s objective of growing the population to 40 million and accommodating 150 million visitors by 2030. This figure has increased from approximately 106 million visitors last year, including 27 million international visitors, a 62 percent increase from the previous year.”
Knight Frank’s analysis shows that there are currently 25 giga projects at various phases of construction around the Kingdom. The Western region leads with a real estate development plan worth $692 billion, or 55 percent of the $1.25 trillion development plan, and commissioned projects worth $146 billion. This is followed by the Riyadh province with a $229 billion real estate development plan and $75 billion worth of commissioned projects.
The development plan for the rest of the provinces combined totals $14.3 billion, with projects yet to be commissioned, according to the report.
