Saudi Arabia has revealed plans to develop a tourism project known as the Red Sea Project that will incorporate 50 natural island between the cities of Amlaj and Al-Jawh.

The project was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud who said that the scheme will be delivered in cooperation with the world’s largest hotel companies.

Located near to protected nature reserves and inactive volcanoes in the Harat Alrahat area, the development area is also close to the ancient ruins of Madain Saleh.

The construction work for the first phase is expected to start in the third quarter of 2019 and includes an airport, port, hotels, residential buildings, and other related infrastructure and facilities. The target completion date for the first phase is the fourth quarter of 2022.

The initial investment in the project will come from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and it will form partnerships with international companies to develop projects within the development area.

Tourism has been identified as one of the key components of Vision 2030 as Riyadh seeks to create investment opportunities and jobs for Saudi nationals.

Riyadh has planned major tourism developments on the Red Sea Coast before.

In 2008 it approved an ambitious $38bn tourism masterplan for the Red Sea coastline, that involved the development of 19 locations from the Jordanian border in the north to Yemen in the South.