Why international developers are considering projects in Saudi Arabia

There has been growing interest from international developers to launch projects in Saudi Arabia amid new reforms in the real estate sector, experts said.

Developers from the UAE and Egypt are looking at “new opportunities” in the kingdom, Ramzi Darwish, head of Savills in Saudi Arabia, told The National on the sidelines of Cityscape Global in Riyadh.

“We're probably going to see a decent amount of regional developers come into Saudi [Arabia] and there's already a lot of interest, whether people that we talk to at Cityscape, or whether people that we talk to outside the event and also from international developers to try and partner with Saudi landowners and developers," he said.

UAE companies, including Aldar and Arada, have previously said they are keen to start new projects in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy. Arada, a joint venture between KBW Investments – a company controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed and Sharjah-based Basma Group – is in talks with the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, to start a “significant size, mixed use, residential project” in the kingdom, its group chief executive Ahmed Alkhoshaibi told The National in September.

Saudi Arabia is expected to attract new developers amid reforms in property sector. Photo: ABACA

Meanwhile, the Trump Organisation and London-listed Dar Global have also launched two towers in the kingdom. UK-based Cheval Collection is also planning up to seven projects in Saudi Arabia over the next three years as part of its expansion plans in the kingdom.

“Developers will now need to design and build residential schemes to meet the criteria for both Saudi nationals and expats, because it's different," Mr Darwish said. "The expats want different things from Saudi nationals. … the quality and how stock looks like in the phase beyond January will change."

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