Saudi Arabia's Mega Projects - Are You Keeping Track?

Ben Johnson

Aug. 9, 2024

You may have seen in the news many articles talking about some of the projects going on in Saudi Arabia. These ambitious mega projects are mostly a part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 which aims to diversify the country away from oil by focusing on its tourism sector as well as moving towards greener energy targets.

The scale of some of these projects are absolutely mind-boggling, as are the price tags! Here are some of the mega projects that you may or may not have heard about.

1. The Line

This is arguably the most famous and ambitious of all the projects, and a first of its kind in the world. The Line originally was set to be a huge single line-shaped mega skyscraper city running for 170km and was meant to house over 9 million people. The project has now been scaled down to just 2.5 km however it is still set to be 500m high, making it one of the tallest structures on earth. This incredible project which is well underway is set to be built in the newly named NEOM region in the northwest of the country.

The Line is set to cost between 100-200 billion USD and be completely powered by renewable energy. The project is supposed to be finished by 2030.

2. The New Murabba

We love a mega project, and the giant cube that is the new Murabba is sure to be a great addition to the world of insanely big buildings. And when we say big, we really mean big! This cube-shaped skyscraper, set to be built in Riyadh, will be 400m high and take up an entire city block. Imagine 24 Empire State Buildings all packed in together. And apparently the inside will be partly hollow, with a tower in the core. The New Murabba will host office spaces, apartments and some green space, as well as state-of-the-art renewable technology.  The project is also scheduled for completion by 2030 and will indirectly employ more than 300,000 people.

3. The Oxagon

The Oxagon is another project with some head-spinning figures. This half land half sea city will span an area larger than New York City, and when finished will be the largest floating structure in the world. Half of the industrial city is set to float on the Red Sea which has an average depth of over 500m. The Oxagon also aims to use entirely renewable energy and they are hoping, will increase Saudi influence as a maritime trading power. We have to admit, the shape and design of this project are just downright cool!

This project is also projected to be finished by 2030.

4. Trojena

A ski resort in Saudi? That’s right you heard it here! Firstly, yes there are mountains in Saudi Arabia and it can get cold. On rare occasions, it does also snow. Trojena, which will also be located in the northwestern NEOM province, will be one of the first projects completed of the Saudi mega structures. With the official opening date in the calendar for 2026, this will be the gulf’s first outdoor skiing area, set to be able to house more than 7000 people.

There is a lot of motivation to get this project up and running in time, as Saudi Arabia is supposed to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Yes that’s right - Winter Games! The price tag on this project also means it will be the most expensive facility built for a winter games in human history at over 38 billion USD. This however pales in comparison to the price tag of the entire project which is estimated to be over 500 billion USD. I guess there’s no use in saving for a rainy day when you live in a country that has very little rainfall.

5. Jeddah Tower

Ah yes, the Jeddah Tower. This is one project that you can easily see under construction if you visit Jeddah. Construction on this project officially started in 2011 however was halted due to financial constraints. The project has since resumed in 2023 and is set to be finished in 2028/29. When finished this will be the tallest building in the world, with a height of over 1km, which will also make it the first building in the world to reach such a height. The price tag on this one is only around 1.3 billion USD which now seems very cheap in comparison to other NEOM-related projects for 2030.

6. Rise Tower

If you thought the Jeddah Tower was big, then Rise will leave you with vertigo! While this project is yet to break ground, design plans are being rolled out for this project to be placed in Riyadh. The Rise Tower is set to reach a height of 2km. Yes, that’s right, not 500m, or even 1km, but two whole km! This means it will be more than 2x higher than the Burj Khalifa and more than 5x higher than the Empire State Building. This will take a huge amount of land to build a stable enough base, which Saudi definitely doesn’t lack. I don’t know about you but if someone builds a 2km high building, you better believe we will go see it!

Perhaps by 2030, we will be able to run a Saudi Mega Structures tour and visit them all! In the meantime, if you’d like to come explore the newly opened Saudi Arabia with us then send us an email at [email protected] to join us on one of our tours to Saudi Arabia .