Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, has launched a new company to develop the world’s largest downtown area in Riyadh.
The New Murabba Development Company (NMDC) will oversee the 19-square-kilometre project, known as New Murabba. It is due to be completed in 2030.
In addition to green spaces and walking and cycling paths, the development includes a museum, an immersive theatre, and more than 80 entertainment and cultural venues.
There will also be more than 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms and more than 980,000 square metres of retail space.
According to a statement, the New Murabba project will be a unique living, working and entertainment experience with its own internal transport system.
Its centrepiece is a 400-metre-high cubic skyscraper named ‘Mukaab’, containing two million square metres of shops, and cultural and tourist attractions.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, Mukaab is “the world’s first immersive destination offering an experience created by digital and virtual technology with the latest holographics”.
Part of the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) Vision 2030, the New Murabba project is expected to add $48 billion to the country’s non-oil GDP and create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030.
New entertainment and cultural venues
It is one of several major projects currently being developed in Saudi Arabia to diversify the economy and reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil.
Earlier this year, Diriyah was confirmed as the PIF’s fifth giga-project. Located on the edge of Riyadh, it joins the country’s existing giga-projects: Neom, Red Sea, Qiddiya and Roshn.
Additional projects in the kingdom include AlUla, the world’s largest living museum, and Amaala, a luxury development with a focus on wellness.
Saudi Entertainment Ventures, a subsidiary of the PIF, is also investing $13bn in the development of 21 entertainment destinations.
Images: New Murabba / Neom
