Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has kickstarted 2020 by awarding the first construction contract of the year to Abdul Ali Al Ajmi Company, a major Saudi company, as building work continues at the giant entertainment and sports hub.
The start of the 12-month project will include the landscaping of 7 million cu m of earth to ensure the site preparation of a combined area of more than 4 million sq m area, said a statement from the Saudi company.
This will require upwards of 500 pieces of major earthmoving equipment to grade and develop the plots, in addition to 4,000 tonnes of steel and 30,000 cu m of concrete for stormwater management so that the area is ready for the next stage of development, it stated.
On the new contract, CEO Michael Reininger said: “As Qiddiya strives ahead with its construction execution we are delighted to begin the mass grading and site preparation of our two anchor development nodes: the Resort Core & the City Centre.”
“This is the first of many announcements for 2020 and we are proud to partner with a long-standing Saudi firm, the Abdul Ali Al Ajmi Company for this significant milestone,” he stated.
Set to become the kingdom’s capital of entertainment, sports, and the arts, Qiddiya is located on the doorstep of Riyadh and as one of Saudi Arabia’s Giga projects it will directly employ approximately 17,000 people by 2023.
HRH Mohammad bin Salman, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced the project in April 2017.
The ground-breaking took place in April 2018 and the company, Qiddiya Investment Company, was incorporated as a closed joint-stock company wholly-owned by PIF the next month.
As a core tenet of Vision 2030, Qiddiya has a dual economic and social purpose: to advance economic diversification and unlock new professional pathways while enriching the lives of youth in the kingdom.
On the contract win, Chairman Ali Abdul Ali Al Ajmi said: “As a Saudi company, it is an honor to be part of this unique project as Qiddiya’s partner. Over the last 40 years, we have a demonstrated history of providing our clients with superior excavation, material transport, site preparation and development and so we look forward to using these skills to help Qiddiya achieve their vision.”
Since its establishment in 1980, Abdul Ali Al-Ajmi has been recognized as a major road construction company in the kingdom, he stated.
It is a specialist in the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges, infrastructure, site preparation works, real estate development, and road transport services, he added.
TradeArabia News Service
03/02/2020
