Samsung joins Saudi Qiddiya project

SEOUL: Saudi Arabia and South Korea’s Samsung Group have agreed to collaborate on the Kingdom’s city development project in Qiddiya, officials told Arab News on Wednesday.
Qiddiya, located 40 km west of Riyadh, is referred to as Saudi Arabia’s future “capital of entertainment, sports and the arts.”
On Tuesday, the Qiddiya Investment Co. (QIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Samsung Group signed an extensive memorandum of understanding (MoU) as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reform plan.
The MoU was signed by QIC CEO Michael Reininger and Lee Young-ho, president and CEO of Samsung C&T, a construction arm of the South Korean tech giant, at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh.
“The signing of this milestone MoU between Qiddiya and Samsung C&T, an industry leader and global pioneer, demonstrates our commitment to achieving our dual goals of creating an unprecedented destination that enriches the lives of Saudi citizens while driving social and economic diversification within the Kingdom,” Reininger said.
Kim Wan-soo, senior vice president of Samsung C&T, said the deal will further cement its strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.
“We’re confident to leverage the full capabilities from both partners to deliver the most technologically advanced entertainment, sports and arts destination in the Kingdom,” he added.
Neither side revealed the value of the deal. The project is designed to build a mega entertainment complex that is more than half the size of Seoul and twice the size of Washington D.C., with the Saudi government investing nearly $8 billion.
The complex will feature a hotel, an outdoor entertainment facility, a motorsports center and an indoor ski center.
It is expected to attract about 17 million tourists from around the world once it is completed by 2030.
Under the MoU, Samsung C&T will collaborate on design, engineering and construction of Qiddiya’s sports complex, according to Samsung officials.
Samsung Electronics will become Qiddiya’s primary technology sponsor while building co-branding and naming rights for some of Qiddiya’ anchor facilities.
Other Samsung IT and security affiliates such as Samsung SDS will participate in the project as systems providers, the sources said.
“This is a very extensive deal to support Saudi Arabia’s up-to-date construction project, and is expected to be a stepping stone for boosting more businesses in the Kingdom and other countries in the region,” a Samsung spokesman told Arab News on condition of anonymity.
Samsung is prioritizing the Middle East, which the heir of Samsung Group has called “the land of opportunities.”
Lee visited Saudi Arabia in September to review Samsung’s ongoing construction works, including the Riyadh Metro Project.
During his stay, he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss expanding business cooperation in various fields, including technology, construction and energy.
Lee also met in Seoul with the crown prince, who was visiting South Korea’s capital for the first time to seal business deals worth $8.3 billion.

Samsung joins Saudi Qiddiya project