The Kingdom’s construction industry is gearing up to prepare our stadiums for the 2034 Fifa World Cup, with eight new stadiums in the “planned” stage and most scheduled for completion in 2032, Meed reported on Friday. Four existing stadiums are undergoing major refurbishment, and three stadiums are already under construction with completion dates set between 2026 and 2027.

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REMEMBER- Last October, officials released the Kingdom’s bid book for the World Cup, highlighting 15 stadiums, including 11 new builds spanning five cities, with Riyadh hosting eight, Jeddah four, and one in each of Al Khobar, Abha, and Neom.

The biggest venues: The largest World Cup venues will include Riyadh’s 92k-seat King Salman International Stadium (set to host the opening match and the final), the 70k-seat King Fahad Sports City Stadium (set to host the semi-finals), Jeddah’s 58k-seat King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, and the 46k-seat Neom Stadium (both designated for Quarter-finals).

Awarded contracts include the expansion of the 70k-seat King Fahd Sports City to Saudi Binladin Group, the USD 1.8 bn Jeddah Central Development Stadium to a Chinese-Saudi consortium, the USD 1 bn Aramco Stadium in Al Khobar to Besix-Al Bawani JV, and the USD 1 bn Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium in Qiddiya to FCC-Nesma & Partners JV.

Up next: The flagship 92k-seat King Salman Stadium in the north of Riyadh is expected to be tendered by year-end and completed by 2029, alongside other stadiums in the pipeline, including New Murabba, Roshn, South Riyadh, Qiddiya Coast, King Abdullah Economic City, and Neom.

AND- The Sports Ministry issued an EOI and RFQ for developing the Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Sports City in Riyadh, Meed reported separately. The 47k-seat stadium, among the Kingdom’s World Cup portfolio, is the first to be delivered through a public-private partnership (PPP) model, with a contract duration of 20-30 years.

IN CONTEXT- The Kingdom is recalibrating its spending to prioritize time-sensitive international events like the 2029 Asian Winter Games, the 2034 Fifa World Cup, and Expo 2030, while expanding the use of PPPs to draw private and foreign investment. PPP concession contracts hit USD 28.2 bn in 2023 (23% of project awards) and stayed high at 18.3% in 2024, well above a 15.6% average from 2019 to 2022 and 3.5% in 2018.

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