Diriyah set to offer $5.3bn worth fit-out contracts

15/05/2025 01:41 AST

Diriyah Company is preparing to offer fit-out works worth approximately SAR20 billion ($5.3 billion) across a wide portfolio that includes retail, commercial, and educational assets, it was revealed at the Saudi Giga Projects Summit 2025.

Executive Director of Retail Design and Delivery Sharat Kumar said since the project's inception, Diriyah has awarded over $20 billion in construction contracts from a total budget of $63 billion, covering three masterplans: Diriyah, Wadi Safar and Wadi Hanifa.

Day Two of MEED's Saudi Giga Projects Summit 2025 on Tuesday spotlighted the ambition and scale of Saudi Arabia's transformation, delivering real progress in sustainable urban development, innovation, and private investment.

Taking place at The Venue by ROSHN group, the three-day summit (May 12-14) features more than 70 expert speakers and project leaders driving forward the kingdom's development priorities under Vision 2030.

Opening the day, conference chairman Lucien Zeigler, Managing Partner at RedSalt Advisory Company, underlined the collective responsibility behind Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030: "From ministers to citizens, we are all stakeholders."

Global Sports Tower
The Sports Boulevard Foundation also made headlines at the event, confirming that the design phase for its 130-m-tall Global Sports Tower is now complete, with construction to begin next year.

The 84,000-sq-m facility will host more than 30 sports disciplines, including the world's tallest indoor climbing wall (98 m) and a 250 m running track. The broader Sports Boulevard will become the world's longest linear park, stretching over 135 km across Riyadh.

A headline panel on "Innovation and Urban Design for Smart Infrastructure" brought together leaders from ROSHN, King Salman Park Foundation, Jacobs, Kirkland & Ellis and Sustainability Professionals of Saudi Arabia to explore how smart cities can deliver quality of life through mobility, sustainability, and human-centric design.

Robbie McBratney of ROSHN Group noted that "For ROSHN, smart cities are not about retrofitting - sustainability is in the DNA of the project."

Building on the day's focus on digital innovation, a dedicated workshop hosted by Nemetschek Group turned the spotlight on AI-driven design, digital twins, and smarter collaboration across architecture and construction. Nemetschek is actively partnering with Saudi stakeholders to reshape how cities are designed and built.

Private sector involvement in giga projects was also a focus, with insight on easing budget pressure and boosting investment. Khaled Alrubaian of the National Center for Privatization (NCP) revealed that upcoming partnership opportunities are valued at around $150 billion.