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Sustainability throughout the lifecycle of projects is playing a core role in the development of Saudi Arabia’s major gigaprojects, project leaders told MEED’s Saudi Giga Projects conference in Riyadh on 5 June. 

Public Investment Fund (PIF)-backed Roshn has integrated power-saving technologies and adopted water treatment and reuse across the communities it is developing in the kingdom.

The company’s group CEO David Grover said Roshn is pushing the boundaries with these measures, including introducing micromobility.

“We are pursuing people using their cars less. Along with that, there is a strong push within the kingdom to adopt electric vehicles,” the executive said.

Red Sea Global (RSG), whose first hotels are opening this year, will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.

“The challenge to go 100 per cent renewable is not operational or executional ... it is about the will to do it. It would have been easier to plug into the electricity grid for backup,” said Nicholas King, RSG group chief development officer.

“We decided to set the bar – it is a matter of having to look at the economics. Our revenue streams will reflect a slight premium to reflect that decision,” King explained.

Riyadh-based Diriyah Company is also integrating stringent measures to ensure the development achieves its target gold LEED certification.

“Diriyah in itself is a sustainability project ... the materials used include mainly mud bricks; it is 100 per cent pedestrian friendly and we are looking at a minimum gold LEED certification,” said Mohamed Saad, vice-president and chief development officer at Diriyah Gate Development Authority.

The developer is also looking at using green concrete and other carbon-negative materials for the three parts of the project, namely, Diriyah Gate, Wadi Hanfah and Wadi Safa.

$880bn pipeline

Over a dozen projects in Saudi Arabia have an estimated value of $879bn, with some $48bn-worth of work awarded to date, according to Edward James, head of content and research at MEED.

These projects include the $500bn Neom project, Red Sea, Amaala and Diriyah, among others.  

On 1 March, Saudi Arabia announced $51bn-worth of investments across eight Saudi companies as part of the Shareek investment programme, which is aimed at supporting large Saudi companies in boosting the economic contribution of the kingdom’s private sector.

By 2030, Riyadh wants to increase the private sector’s GDP contribution to 65 per cent, while increasing the country’s non-oil exports from 16 to 50 per cent.

For external investors, too, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plans are the top opportunity in the region, according to a recent poll by Egyptian financial services firm EFG Hermes. The survey showed that 34 per cent of respondents viewed Vision 2030 as the most important source of current investment opportunities.

Read more: Riyadh steps up the Vision 2030 tempo