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Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Company Signs $2 Billion Development Contract

The joint venture contractors include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting (ESEC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
The joint venture contractors include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting (ESEC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Company Signs $2 Billion Development Contract

The joint venture contractors include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting (ESEC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
The joint venture contractors include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting (ESEC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Diriyah Company, which is affiliated with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced on Wednesday the signing of the largest construction contracts awarded in the history of the region, with a value exceeding SAR7.8 billion ($2 billion).
The joint venture contractors include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting (ESEC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), the company said in a statement.
It added that the project includes building a mixed-use district with advanced educational institutions, cultural sites, modern offices, and a luxury hotel, within the framework of the Diriyah Development, which represents the Kingdom’s most important historical and cultural destination, and one of the most prominent projects of Vision 2030.
Jerry Inzerillo, Diriyah Company Group CEO, said: “We are thrilled to announce the award of this major contract to build the exciting mixed-use district in the north of Diriyah. This represents a major step in our accelerating development strategy and commitment to making Diriyah a place for the world to be able to learn, absorb culture, and experience a vibrant and welcoming visitor destination.”
He continued: “The agreement with CSCEC is a further example of the ever-closer economic ties and constructive business partnerships that are being built between Saudi Arabia and China.”
For his part, Ahmed Al Bassam, CEO of ESEC, said: “We are enormously proud to continue our strategic partnership with the Diriyah Company and to be entrusted with a project of such importance in developing some of the highest profile assets within the Diriyah development area, and indeed across the Kingdom.”
In turn, Chuanhai Wei, Vice President of CSCEC Middle East General Manager at CSCEC KSA Branch, stated: “This contract marks another landmark opportunity for CSCEC to work once again with our strategic partners at El Seif Engineering Contracting Company and the Diriyah Company in building an extraordinary new city on the outskirts of Riyadh. We are delighted to be working on such a large-scale and ambitious project once more.”

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Poland Looks Forward to Long-term Relations with Saudi Arabia in IT, Food Security

Robert Rostek, Polish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, during the inauguration ceremony of the direct air line between Riyadh and Warsaw. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Robert Rostek, Polish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, during the inauguration ceremony of the direct air line between Riyadh and Warsaw. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Poland Looks Forward to Long-term Relations with Saudi Arabia in IT, Food Security

Robert Rostek, Polish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, during the inauguration ceremony of the direct air line between Riyadh and Warsaw. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Robert Rostek, Polish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, during the inauguration ceremony of the direct air line between Riyadh and Warsaw. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A senior Polish diplomat revealed growing prospects for fruitful cooperation between his country and Saudi Arabia, especially in food security, while many companies operating in information technology and the food industry have expressed their interest in establishing local offices in the Kingdom.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Robert Rostek, the Polish ambassador to Saudi Arabia, emphasized that the two countries’ leaderships are determined to develop bilateral economic, political and social relations.
He also said that the European 5-year Schengen visa that is provided for Saudi nationals will increase tourism and trade between the two sides.
The volume of bilateral trade reached $7.9 billion in 2023, which makes the Kingdom the largest economic partner of Poland at the level of Arab countries, the ambassador stated.
“In 2025, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, although official contacts go back nearly 100 years... If it were not for our complex history, our diplomatic relations would have remained unhindered throughout these years”, he said.
According to Rostek, relations between Riyadh and Warsaw have developed at an unusual pace especially in the past year. He explained that senior Polish officials visited the Kingdom in 2023, including the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Minister of Finance Magdalena Rzeczkowska.
Similarly, some senior Saudi officials conducted visits to Poland, he remarked. Those include the Saudi Minister of Economy, Faisal Al-Ibrahim, in May, and the Minister Transport and Logistics, Saleh Al-Jasser, with the Chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Abdulaziz Al-Duwailej, in August, whose mission greatly contributed to the signing of the Polish-Saudi air transport agreement, which led to the establishment of a direct air line between Riyadh and Warsaw, just one month ago.
The Polish diplomat went on to say: “We have also worked together on the Ukrainian file, and supported diplomatic efforts, by participating in the Jeddah Summit in August 2023.”
Rostek told Asharq Al-Awsat that the year 2023 witnessed the entry of a number of Polish firms into the Saudi market. He pointed to the presence of Polish companies Comarch and Asseco, which specialize in IT solutions, in addition to other companies operating in the food, cosmetics and fashion industries.
He added that on June 4, 2024, direct flights were launched between Riyadh and Warsaw, operated by LOT Polish Airlines.
“We see a mutual understanding with Saudi Arabia, to develop our relationship economically, socially and politically,” he said, adding: “With the newly approved series of EU visas for Saudis, and the possibility of obtaining 5-year Schengen visas, in addition to Saudi e-visas, travel between the Kingdom and Europe has become easier than ever before.”