More planes for Riyadh Air, a Bangladesh terminal for RSGT, and new national parks up for investors

Riyadh Air grows fleet

Riyadh Air has ordered 34 widebodies from Airbus and Boeing, committing to 28 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 20 of them the larger 787-10, and six Airbus A350-1000s, the carrier said. The 28 Dreamliners are options exercised from its 2023 Boeing order, while the six A350-1000s firm up existing purchase rights and lift its confirmed orders for that model to 31.

Riyadh Air, which flies six 787-9s and serves six cities, has been adding routes since June, launching direct flights to Madrid on Friday, three days after opening a seasonal service to Malaga.

Why this matters: The widebodies build toward Riyadh Air's target of more than 100 destinations by 2030, a pillar of Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s push to diversify beyond oil and establish Riyadh as one of the Middle East’s main competing hubs. Committing to both Boeing and Airbus widebodies at once, rather than standardizing on one airframe, gives the airline capacity for denser long-haul routes.

RSGT expands into Bangladesh

Bangladesh debut: Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), a Sisco Holding portfolio company, inaugurated a container terminal at Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port after investing USD 170 mn, making it the Kingdom’s first international port management and operations concession, the company said on X.

The terminal is being developed under a 22-year concession agreement awarded to the company in 2023. It increased the terminal’s annual handling capacity to 600k TEUs from 250k TEUs by installing four modern quay cranes and upgrading cargo-handling equipment, Alarabiya reports.

What’s next: The company is mulling additional investments of up to USD 1 bn in Bangladesh’s maritime sector as it seeks to expand across emerging markets and grow its infrastructure and logistics business.

New national park prospects

NCVC rolls out seven new investment prospects: The National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification (NCVC) launched seven investment prospects in national parks across the Eastern Province, according to an announcement on X. The center expects the package to attract more than SAR 700 mn in investment, generate returns of up to 16% with an internal rate of return of 17%, contribute more than SAR 2 bn to GDP, and create around 7k jobs.

The prospects in a nutshell: The prospects span more than 60 mn sqm across the Kingdom and cover ecotourism, agritourism, camping, caravanning, events, recreational activities, and visitor services, with investment periods ranging from five to 25 years.

Another sukuk issuance

The Finance Ministry has completed a SAR 17.2 bn sukuk issuance, the National Debt Management Center (NDMC) said in a statement. The issuance came in five tranches, ranging from five to 15 years. The ministry and the NDMC appointed HSBC Saudi Arabia, SNB Capital, Al Rajhi Capital, Aljazira Capital, and Alinma Investment as joint lead managers for the issuance.

ALSO- The center completed an early redemption of a portion of the issuer’s outstanding maturities for the years 2026 through 2030 — coming in at a value of SAR 17.1 bn.