The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind Saudi Arabia’s flagship international regenerative tourism initiative “The Red Sea Project”, announced on Sunday targeting contracts worth about SAR15 billion riyals ($4 billion) by the end of 2020.
It also revealed awarding to date more than 500 contracts to international and local firms, collectively worth around SAR7.5 billion ($2 billion). These include awards for the design, construction and operation of state-of-the-art accommodation and facilities at the destination.
The announcements were made during a press interview by the company to review the most significant developments in the project.
The luxury tourism destination along the Red Sea coast outlines impressive and tangible progress made at the 28,000 km² site that includes a vast archipelago of more than 90 islands.
The Project has already passed significant milestones and work is on track to welcome the first guests by the end of 2022, when the international airport and the first four hotels will open. The remaining 12 hotels scheduled for completion in phase one will open in 2023, delivering a total of 3,000 rooms across five islands and two inland resorts.
“This significant landmark underscores the scale of our project and the remarkable progress made to create the destination of the future, said John Pagano, CEO of TRSDC.
“TRSDC is a contributing factor to the growth of the Saudi Arabian economy and is playing a pivotal role in its Vision 2030 plan,” he added.
Meanwhile, the company plans to close on a SAR14 billion ($3.7 billion) loan from five domestic banks by the end of the year as it steps up construction on a luxury tourism project.
So far the company has awarded SAR7 billion of contracts and plans to award a total of SAR15 billion by the end of the year, Bloomberg quoted Pagano as saying.
Since the company’s establishment in 2017, over 70 percent of the total value of contracts has been awarded to Saudi firms, highlighting TRSDC’s commitment to bolstering the local economy Overall, more than 500 contracts have been awarded to companies from 24 countries.