‘New Dammam’ real estate development revealed

• Project will be 32 square km
• Expected investment of $26bn
• More land to be reclaimed

Saudi Arabia has revealed plans for a large mixed-use coastal development project in Dammam on recently reclaimed land.

The 32 square kilometre project, which Prince Saud bin Nayef, the governor of the Eastern Province, said would be called New Dammam, will be just over half the size of Manhattan. The governor said it will attract direct and indirect investment of SAR98 billion ($26.1 billion).

It will be developed in collaboration with Saudi developer Adel Real Estate and Alinma Capital, the investment arm of the Saudi bank Alinma Bank, the chief executives of which spoke at the announcement made in Riyadh on Monday.

The project will include residential and commercial districts, served by five arterial roads and 23,000 individual plots, according to promotional material. It will also feature 500,000 square metres of parks and gardens.

The area earmarked for New Dammam is on land directly east of the built-up parts of Dammam that was reclaimed from the sea in the 2010s. 

An artist’s impression of the project suggests that more land will be reclaimed before the development is completed.

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The New Dammam announcement comes as Mohammed Al Jadaan, the finance minister, told Bloomberg on Sunday that Saudi Arabia plans to release a new economic diversification agenda to outline its spending priorities over the next five years.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is testing elements of its revised investment strategy to sound out investors this week as it seeks billions from the private sector to keep its giga-project pipeline moving, AGBI reported on Sunday.

The PIF Private Sector Forum got underway on Monday in Riyadh. The fund and its 120 portfolio companies will pitch opportunities to investors and suppliers, giving an early read on how it is reworking its giga-project pipeline.

Organisers said the forum is expected to yield more than 100 memoranda of understanding.