King Salman Park Foundation (KSPF), the developer behind the $25 billion King Salman Park giga-project in Riyadh, is launching a new development featuring homes and offices as demand for property remains strong in the Saudi capital.
The project, to be built within King Salman Park in partnership with Adjan Real Estate and Sedco Capital, is valued at $1 billion, its chief executive told The National in Riyadh on the sidelines of real estate exhibition, Cityscape Global.
KSPF, a government-owned body with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as it chairman, will supply the land, while Adjan and Sedco will provide equity for the development.
“The project will have a substantial component of residential, roughly 600 units, about 45,000 square meters of office space and a hotel with more than 200 keys,” chief executive of KSPF George Tanasijevich said. “Then there will be a variety of amenities, including supermarkets, restaurants, clinics and retail.”
King Salman Park, covering 17.2 sq km in the heart of Riyadh, was launched by the Saudi government in 2019 as part of the kingdom's plans to diversify its economy from oil under Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030.
The park is being built in several phases and will feature cultural, arts and entertainment attractions, as well as housing and green spaces.
“The master plan of the [residential] zone and the broader King Salman Park footprint is designed to provide for the ease of pedestrian mobility,” Mr Tanasijevich said.
“It’s going to have a museum of world cultures that will be operated by the Ministry of Culture. It will have a national theatre. It's going to have an academy where people can learn or pursue their interests in the arts.” Tunnels, bridges, a visitor pavilion and a royal arts complex are already complete, he added.
The latest announcement months before Saudi Arabia is set to allow foreigners to buy property in specific zones in Riyadh and Jeddah, starting from January. The move is expected to boost property transactions and help more developers to launch new projects in the kingdom.
“It’s a very positive thing for the market," Mr Tanasijevich said. "It will be an additional incentive for foreigners to come and live and work here, because they can have a place that they can call their own."
Saudi Arabia also aims to increase home ownership among citizens to 70 per cent by 2030, through government initiatives such as Sakani.
Home ownership had reached 63.7 per cent by the end of 2023, a 16.7 percentage point increase since the National Transformation Plan was introduced in 2016, surpassing the government’s 2023 target of 63 per cent, Knight Frank said.
The kingdom is also planning to simplify access to affordable long-term financing.
