The total value of awarded construction contracts for gigaprojects roseto USD 196 bn in the first eight months on 2025, as the kingdom’s developments shift from blueprints to reality, according to the fourth annual Saudi Arabia Giga Projects Report by Knight Frank (pdf).

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Riyadh at the forefront: Riyadh has been leading the gigaproject drive with its flagships — Diriyah Gate, King Salman Park, and the 220 km Sports Boulevard. Since 2016, over USD 237 bn in real estate and infrastructure projects have been announced in the capital, with USD 44.2 bn already awarded and USD 158 bn in the pipeline.

On the back of this development boom, the capital’s population is projected to swell to 10.1 mn by 2030 from 7 mn in 2022 — preserving its status as the Kingdom’s top job creation market, which accounted for 63% of new jobs in the country since 2019. The capital is adding 340k new homes, 4.8 mn sqm of offices, 3 mn sqm of retail space, and about 29k hotel rooms to meet the increasing demands

Riyadh’s star Diriyah: Contract awards for Diriyah have reached USD 3.7 bn as of August this year, while 2024 totaled USD 5.9 bn. Overall, the USD 63 bn Diriyah Gate project has seen USD 14.5 bn in commissioned works to date, with another USD 45.6 bn slated for development. Progress in the heritage destination reached 40%-57% in its sub projects Diriyah Square, Wadi Safar, Arts District and Bujairi District, while works in Media and Innovation District and Diriyah Boulevard are just kicking off.

A snapshot of the Western region: The Western region accounts for USD 431.3 bn in announced investments since 2016 across 17 projects, with USD 57 bn in contracts awarded and USD 187.2 bn in the pipeline. By 2030, projects in the Western region are expected to deliver over 382.5k homes, 330k hotel rooms, 3 mn sqm of offices, and 4.3 mn sqm of retail space. The region’s flagship Neom and its sub-projects have seen awarded construction contracts to date totaling USD 24 bn, including USD 9.3 bn for Oxagon, USD 8.9 bn for The Line, USD 3.3 bn for Trojena, USD 2 bn for Sindalah, and USD 470 mn for Magna.

Other regions are feeling the love too: Gigaprojects worth USD 132.3 bn are advancing across other regions, with USD 31.4 bn already commissioned and USD 85.3 bn in the pipeline. Among the initiatives are tourism projects in Aseer’s Soudah Mountains, urban revitalization efforts by the Downtown Company, and large-scale housing initiatives by the National Housing Company and PIF-owned Roshn.

Gigasports: By 2032, over a dozen stadiums across Saudi Arabia will be expanded or built from scratch at a total cost of USD 17.5 bn, boosting capacity to host major tournaments, including the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and 2034 Fifa World Cup. In parallel, PIF-owned Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven) is investing over USD 4.7 bn to develop entertainment complexes across major cities, adding 570k sqm of retail space and introducing cinemas, theme parks, and family centers to position the Kingdom as a regional leisure hub.

Zooming out: The national transformation plan has put forth real estate and infrastructure projects totalling USD 1.3 tn, of which over USD 808 bn worth of real estate projects are in the pipeline. Saudi Arabia is the GCC’s largest project spender with USD 440 bn in committed projects and an additional USD 1.55 tn planned, according to Emirates NBD’s September estimates.

IN CONTEXT- The 20% uptick in gigaproject contract awards comes despite a widescale recalibration of gigaprojects, including Neom, as the Kingdom begins to “take stock” of large-scale Vision 2030 spending amid low oil prices and global uncertainty, Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said in May. The Kingdom is tackling supply pressures by adopting risk planning and diversifying material sources, as well as adapting timelines to economic conditions, and prioritizing gigaprojects slated for international mega events such as 2030 World Expo and 2034 Fifa World Cup, the report noted.

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