Saudi Red Sea developer plans to raise 14 billion riyals in 12 months

THE firm developing luxury tourism projects on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast is planning to raise around 14 billion riyals (S$4.8 billion) over the next year.

The fresh financing will help roll out construction in the second phase of the project, Gregory Djerejian, the group head of investments and legal at Red Sea Global, said in an interview in Dubai. The firm had borrowed 14.1 billion riyals in 2021 to fund construction for the first phase.

The Red Sea project, first announced in 2017, covers 28,000 square km – an area about the size of Belgium – and will target regional and international luxury travellers. The Red Sea coast includes an archipelago of 90 islands and the government is building new resorts in the region, as well as on the green mountains in the south near Yemen.

The development is key to Saudi Arabia’s plans to transform itself into a top tourism destination. To help achieve its ambitious targets, the kingdom has pledged to spend billions of US dollars – but some of those initiatives have been facing cutbacks, Bloomberg News reported in July.

Red Sea Global will have six hotels operational before the end of the year and another 20 will be opened in 2025, Djerejian said. BLOOMBERG