CEO of Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) stressed that the entertainment megaproject will start receiving its first visitors in 2023.
He gave details on the project and five development areas with international standards, saying negotiations have been taking place with international investment funds.
Details of the Six Flags project will be unveiled in August, CEO Mike Reininger said during a ceremony to reveal more details on the general plan on Wednesday.
He noted that up to 50 companies are working on the project.
In response to a question by Asharq Al-Awsat on investments in Qiddiya, Reininger said negotiations with global investment funds are taking place, stressing that a number of investors and funds expressed interest in investing in the megaproject.
He said that more than $10 billion are spent each year by Saudis in tourism trips to destinations similar to Qiddiya but abroad, adding that the company aims at creating a competitive environment in the Kingdom.
“Whoever arrives in Saudi Arabia as a destination for tourism will look for entertainment sites and will find a convenient location for leisure tourism,” Reininger noted.
He explained that reaching Qiddiya will be easy with the availability of a metro linking Riyadh to it, affirming QIC’s work on setting up a train service linking central Riyadh directly to Qiddiya.
Regarding the challenges the desert environment poses for an entertainment project such as Qiddiya, Reininger said it took the issue into consideration while designing the project area.
Nine wells will be drilled and water will be delivered from Riyadh and later re-filtered, he explained.
“We look forward in Qiddiya to offer the project’s visitors rich experiences,” he said.
“For this reason,” he added, “we are committed to supporting these experiences in new and innovative means that come in line with the local culture and raising the level of personal and professional aspirations, contributing positively to Saudi Vision 2030.”
More than 20 architecture companies have been contracted to work on the project, and a team of more than 500 professionals from 30 countries assembled in conjunction with Danish architecture and building company Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which is constructing tower blocks and arts, cultural and sports facilities.
In June, QIC unveiled the master plan of the mega entertainment city, which has been divided into five major development zones, namely Resort Core, City Center, Eco Core, Motion Core and the Golf and Residential Neighborhood.
