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Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC), which is tasked with delivering the Expo 2030 Riyadh venue, received commercial bids from contractors on 23 November for the tender to undertake the initial infrastructure works at the site.

The tender for the project’s initial infrastructure works was issued in September, MEED previously reported.

In October, MEED revealed that 16 firms had been invited to bid for the contract to undertake the initial infrastructure works at the Expo 2030 Riyadh site.

The firms invited to bid include:

• Shibh Al-Jazira Contracting (local)
• Hassan Allam Construction (Egypt)
• El-Seif Engineering Contracting (local)
• Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting (local)
• Kolin Construction (Turkiye)
• Al-Yamama Trading & Contracting Company (local)
• Saudi Pan Kingdom (local)
• Unimac (local)
• Mapa Insaat (Turkiye)
• Yuksel Insaat (Turkiye)
• IC Ictas / Al-Rashid Trading & Contracting (Turkiye/local)
• Mota-Engil / Albawani (Portugal/local)
• Almabani / FCC Construction (local/Spain)

The overall infrastructure works – covering the construction of the main utilities and civil works at Expo 2030 Riyadh – will be split into three packages:

• Lot 1 covers the main utilities corridor
• Lot 2 includes the northern cluster of the nature corridor
• Lot 3 comprises the southern cluster of the nature corridor

In July, US-based engineering firm Bechtel Corporation announced it had won the project management consultancy deal for the delivery of the Expo 2030 Riyadh masterplan construction works.

The masterplan encompasses an area of 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites designated for a World Expo event. Situated to the north of the Saudi capital, the site will be located near the future King Salman International airport, providing direct access to various landmarks within Riyadh.

Countries participating in Expo 2030 Riyadh will have the option to construct permanent pavilions. This initiative is expected to create opportunities for business and investment growth in the region.

The expo is forecast to attract more than 40 million visitors.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth vehicle, launched ERC in June as a wholly owned subsidiary to build and operate facilities for Expo 2030.

In a statement, the PIF said: “During its construction phases, Expo 2030 Riyadh and its legacy are projected to contribute around $64bn to Saudi GDP and generate approximately 171,000 direct and indirect jobs. Once operational, it is expected to contribute approximately $5.6bn to GDP.”