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Saudi Binladin Group has won contracts worth around SR5bn ($1.3bn) from Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The contracts were awarded to build Seven’s two entertainment destinations in the Dammam and Alkhobar regions in the kingdom’s eastern province.

The entertainment complex in Alkhobar will be built on reclaimed land on the waterfront. The complex spans around 300,000 square metres (sq m) and is also known as “The Waves”.

The Dammam entertainment complex spans 360,000 sq m and will also be built on reclaimed land on the Dammam waterfront.

Seven projects

So far this year, Seven has awarded contracts worth approximately SR8.5bn for the development of its entertainment destinations across the kingdom.

In February this year, MEED reported that the joint venture of Al-Bawani and Urbacon had been awarded contracts totalling SR2.4bn ($640m) for the construction of three entertainment complexes in Saudi Arabia.

The contracts covered the construction of entertainment projects in Tabuk, Yanbu and Medina.

The Tabuk project involves the construction of an immersive centre, a Discovery Adventures centre, a 12-hole indoor adventure golf course, a 10-lane bowling alley, a 10-screen cinema, retail, food and beverage outlets, an e-karting circuit and other associated buildings.

It will have a built-up area of 72,500 sq m on a land area of 40,000 sq m. The scheme is designed by US-headquartered architect Gensler. The other consultants working on the scheme are Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah and the local office of KEO International Consultants. The project manager is France-based Egis.

In Yanbu, the project involves the construction of an entertainment complex with restaurants, cinemas, indoor sports facilities, car parking and other associated structures. It will cover a land area of about 36,000 sq m. The consultant is Dar al-Handasah and Egis is the project manager.

For Medina, the project involves constructing a leisure club, restaurants, shops, amusement parks, a live entertainment area, car parking and other associated buildings. The consultant is Dar al-Handasah and the project manager is Egis. The joint venture broke ground on the project in July.

In September, the joint venture also won the estimated SR1.1bn ($293m) contract to construct the Taif entertainment complex.

London-headquartered Mace International is providing project management consultancy services for the scheme.

Project pipeline

Seven plans to invest SR50bn ($13.3bn) in developing 21 integrated entertainment destinations in 14 cities in the kingdom as Riyadh pursues its strategy to move away from hydrocarbons, create jobs and improve the quality of life for citizens and residents.

The complexes are intended to help position the kingdom in the post-Covid-19 era as an entertainment, culture and tourism hub for the region.

The new destinations will be developed in partnership with global entertainment brands including Warner Bros. Discovery, Clip’ n Climb, Mattel and Transformers manufacturer Hasbro.

MEED's October 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes: 

> COMMENT: Riyadh reshapes its global role
> POLITICS: Saudi Arabia looks both east and west
> SPORT: Saudi Arabia’s football vision goes global
> ECONOMY: Riyadh prioritises stability over headline growth
> BANKS: Saudi banks track more modest growth path
> UPSTREAM: Aramco focuses on upstream capacity building
> DOWNSTREAM: Saudi chemical and downstream projects in motion
> POWER: Riyadh rides power projects surge
> WATER: Saudi water projects momentum holds steady
> GIGAPROJECTS: Gigaproject activity enters full swing
> TRANSPORT: Infrastructure projects support Riyadh’s logistics ambitions
> JEDDAH TOWER: Jeddah developer restarts world’s tallest tower