Saudi's AlUla awards $14mln housing complex contract

The contract for 150 “modular, high-quality and fully furnished accommodation units” was awarded by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and is expected to be complete in three months, Red Sea International said in a filing to the Tadawul stock exchange on Wednesday.

AlUla is home to the archeological site of Dadan, which is being developed into a cultural tourist destination.

Dadan, a civilization that dates back more than 2,700 years and pre-dates the Nabataean civilization as well as the Roman presence in the Arabian Peninsula, was once the capital for the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and is considered to be one of the most developed 1st-millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula.

In April, Amr AlMadani, CEO of the RCU, the entity set up by the Saudi Ministry of Finance in July 2017 to manage the development of the site, told Arab News the commission has invested $2 billion in initial seed funding for the initial development of the historical development area. A further $3.2 billion, which will come from public-private partnerships, has also been earmarked for spending on priority infrastructure ahead of the completion of phase one of the project in 2023.

“We are well into executing phase one. This includes the upgrade of the airport, which has been completed. We will start our low-carbon tram development infrastructure as well. And, so far, our visitor experience centers in the heritage and nature site are being upgraded,” AlMadani said.

The “Journey Through Time Masterplan” was recently announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Upon completion in 2035, the development project aims to create 38,000 new jobs, attract 2 million visitors a year, expand the population of the area to 130,000, and contribute $32 billion to the Kingdom’s economy.