Saudi Arabia has incorporated Qiddiya as a standalone business entity called Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), a key step in testablishing a new phase of the entertainment industry in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Investment registered QIC, which will oversee the development of Qiddiya, as a closed joint-stock company, wholly owned by the Kingdom’s sovereign investment fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), according to a Ministry of Culture and Information statement released on Monday.
Saudi Arabia’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month attended the launch ceremony of the project, which was announced in April last year as one of the three major projects of Vision 2030.
Covering 334 square kilometers, about 2.5 times the size of Walt Disney World, Qiddiya will shape Saudi Arabia’s multi-sector economy, help secure sustainable growth and improve the quality of services to citizens.
Qiddiya is one of the entertainment projects that will change investments in entertainment sector all around the world. QIC will allow the domestic economy to recapture a market share of billions of dollars spent annually by Saudis on foreign tourism. These funds will remain inside the country to be reinvested for the benefit of citizens.
Qiddiya CEO Michael Reininger explained that Qiddiya will be a fully independent entity, and will draft its own budget, aiming to move forward with this project that has the potential to enrich the lives of all Saudis.
“This step brings us closer to the day when we can satisfy the demand of a powerful and untapped Saudi market for new and accessible activities. It is for these future visitors – the nearly two thirds of the Kingdom’s population under 35, the more than 7 million people who reside within 40 kilometers of our location on the doorstep of Riyadh – that we at Qiddiya Investment Company aspire to build a better future filled with culture, sports, entertainment, and opportunity,” he said.
By the third phase of the project between 2026 and 2035, the entertainment city would have been established and will provide 11,000 housing units, in addition to the raise in gross domestic product, while the number of visitors to the entertainment city is expected to reach 31 million visitors.
Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) was established on May 10 2018 to lead the development of Qiddiya, a leading entertainment destination in Saudi Arabia, as a center for activities, discovery and participation.
Qiddiya is envisioned as a gigantic entertainment hub with facilities divided into six main components: amusement parks; sports tracks, auto and motorcycle racing areas on desert and asphalt tracks; indoor ski slopes and water parks; natural attractions; and cultural and heritage events. The project includes resorts, hotels, restaurants and residential units.
As a key component of Vision 2030, Qiddiya will provide many opportunities that contribute to economic diversification and enhance the quality of life for Saudi citizens. The project is located just 30 minutes from the capital, Riyadh, and laid its foundation stone in April 2018, and the first phase will be completed in 2022.
