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Saudi Arabia Opens Doors to Int’l Investment on ‘World Tourism Day’

The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)
The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Opens Doors to Int’l Investment on ‘World Tourism Day’

The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)
The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)

As the world emerges from the shadows of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia unveiled its true potential as a global tourist destination.

The Kingdom has brought together more than 500 government officials, leaders from the tourism sector, and experts from 120 countries to celebrate World Tourism Day (WTD).

Held under the theme of “Tourism and Green Investment,” this event is described as the largest of its kind in the 43-year history of WTD’s commemoration, according to international stakeholders in the industry.

In the event’s opening speech, Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed al-Khatib announced that the Saudi government had opened the doors to international investment in the tourism sector.

He also emphasized Saudi commitment to assisting the private sector in accessing global capital for the construction of the facilities expected and needed by visitors, a vision that is becoming a reality in the Kingdom.

Khatib stated that hosting the WTD in Riyadh is a significant endeavor for the Kingdom.

According to Khatib, the tourism sector is considered one of the world’s most vital economic activities, employing one out of every 10 individuals worldwide and providing livelihoods for hundreds of millions more.

Furthermore, it can account for over 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in some countries.

Khatib explained that the Kingdom needs to create a million job opportunities in the tourism sector over the next decade, pointing out that the government has already generated around 200,000 jobs and still requires 800,000 jobs to align with the capacity of hotel rooms and new products.

The minister revealed the construction of approximately 500,000 new rooms currently underway in several regions as part of massive government projects in NEOM, Diriyah, and others.

Additionally, the private sector will contribute further projects.

Khatib announced a billion-dollar investment to establish the Riyadh School of Tourism and Hospitality, with its main campus in the Qiddiya region (central Saudi Arabia), set to open in 2027.

While discussing the growth of the tourism sector and the increase in tourist numbers, Khatikb highlighted how tourism has become a global industry.

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Aramco Signs Over $25 Billion of Deals for Main Gas Network, Jafurah Gas Field

This picture shows Aramco tower (C) at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh on April 16, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
This picture shows Aramco tower (C) at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh on April 16, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Aramco Signs Over $25 Billion of Deals for Main Gas Network, Jafurah Gas Field

This picture shows Aramco tower (C) at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh on April 16, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
This picture shows Aramco tower (C) at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh on April 16, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco has signed contracts worth more than $25 billion for the second phase of the expansion of its Jafurah gas field and the third phase of expanding its main gas network, its CEO Amin Nasser said on Sunday.

Jafurah is the kingdom's largest unconventional non-oil associated gas field and is potentially the biggest shale gas development outside the United States, with reserves reaching 229 trillion cubic feet of gas and 75 billion barrels of condensates.

"By generating an anticipated 2 billion standard cubic feet per day of sales gas by 2030, this bold initiative will strengthen Saudi Arabia's position as one of the top national gas producers in the world", said Nasser, speaking of the Jafurah field at a contracts award ceremony in Dhahran.

The main gas network expansion will add 4,000 more kilometers of pipelines, boosting capacity by around 3.2 billion standard cubic feet per day and connecting several additional cities from across the country to the network, he said.

The awarded contracts are worth more than $25 billion, and will target sales gas production growth of more than 60% by 2030, compared to 2021 levels.

The contract awards "demonstrate our firm belief in the future of gas as an important energy source, as well as a vital feedstock for downstream industries. The scale of our ongoing investment at Jafurah and the expansion of our Master Gas System underscores our intention to further integrate and grow our gas business to meet anticipated rising demand," Nasser noted.

"This complements the diversification of our portfolio, creates new employment opportunities, and supports the Kingdom’s transition towards a lower-emission power grid, in which gas and renewables gradually displace liquids-based power generation. To get where we are today, a lot of hard work, innovation and a strong ‘can do’ spirit has been demonstrated by teams across our vast network of suppliers and service providers, who have joined Aramco on this journey to build and expand our world-class energy infrastructure,” he added.

According to Aramco, the Company has awarded 16 contracts, worth a combined total of around $12.4 billion, for phase two development at Jafurah. The work will involve construction of gas compression facilities and associated pipelines, expansion of the Jafurah Gas Plant including construction of gas processing trains, and utilities, sulfur and export facilities. It will also involve construction of the Company’s new Riyas Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation facilities in Jubail — including NGL fractionation trains, and utilities, storage and export facilities — to process NGL received from Jafurah.

Another 15 lump sum turnkey contracts, worth a combined total of around $8.8 billion, have been awarded to commence the phase three expansion of the Master Gas System, which delivers natural gas to customers across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The expansion, being conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, will increase the size of the network and raise its total capacity by an additional 3.15 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd) by 2028, through the installation of around 4,000km of pipelines and 17 new gas compression trains.

An additional 23 gas rig contracts worth $2.4bn have also been awarded, along with two directional drilling contracts worth $612 million. Meanwhile, 13 well tie-in contracts at Jafurah, worth a total of $1.63bn, have been awarded between December 2022 and May 2024.