King Salman Park attracts $4bn for two projects

• $3.8bn across two schemes
• Residential and hospitality
• Expected to be complete by 2030

Two real estate funds have committed SAR14.2 billion ($3.8 billion) to develop mixed-use projects within the King Salman Park in Riyadh.

The total committed investments have surpassed SAR20 billion across five major projects, the King Salman Park Foundation, the developer of the giga-project, said in a statement.

A consortium led by Riyadh-based Kolaghassi Development will construct a new residential-led mixed-use district, backed by a SAR11 billion fund managed by Mulkia Investment. 

The fund comprises Saudi and international investors, whose names were not disclosed.

The consortium, which includes Al Othaim Investment and US-based real estate investor RXR, will develop a district adjacent to the King Salman Park metro station with a total built-up area exceeding 1 million sq m. It will include 3,700 residential units, a K–12 school, 300 hospitality keys and more than 100,000 sq m of grade-A office space.

Separately, a consortium led by Saudi-listed Retal Urban Development Company will develop a mixed-use project with the King Salman Park’s cultural district. 

The development is supported by a SAR3.2 billion fund managed by SAB Invest, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB).

Retal will lead the construction work, alongside Jeddah-based Asasat Development and Real Estate Development and Bahrain’s Bareeq Al Retaj. 

The project includes more than 600 residential units, more than 140 hotel rooms and 50,000 sq m of grade A office space.

The King Salman Park Foundation, owned by the Public Investment Fund, has already awarded 93 percent of the associated construction packages for the giga-project, which covers 17.2 sq km.

In November King Salman Park Foundation CEO George Tanasijevich said most of the park is expected to be completed by 2030, Bloomberg reported.

In July 2024 King Salman Park was valued by real estate consultancy Knight Frank at $9.4 billion.  

The park’s design features valleys with 1 million trees and a microclimate achieved by rivers and water jets. It is surrounded by a 7km circular walkway called The Loop. 

The masterplan was designed by Saudi architects Omrania and Denmark’s Henning Larsen, and includes a national theatre, at least five museums, a golf course and a residential district.

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In February AGBI reported that a multi-billion dollar joint venture between giga-project Neom and DSV, one of the world’s largest logistics groups, remains in limbo as tighter fiscal conditions force the kingdom to reassess priorities.

In a first public acknowledgement of shift in priorities, Khalid Al Falih, Saudi’s former investment minister, now replaced by Fahad AlSaif, said Neom and its centrepiece “The Line” are pushed down the pecking order as the state diverts spending toward construction needed for the 2034 World Cup and Expo 2030.

Contracts issued by the PIF have fallen sharply since last year, coinciding with a fall in the oil price from an average of $81 a barrel to around $66. 

Oil prices, however, hit almost $120 this month following the US-Israel strike on Iran, before retreating to around $87.