https://arab.news/gu5zw
RIYADH: A SR2.7 billion ($720 million) deal has been signed which will see Saudi Airlines Catering Co. provide laundry services for hotels at Red Sea Global’s tourist developments.
The agreement was announced on the Saudi stock exchange, Tadawul, and SACC expects the deal to start showing up in its profit margin by the third quarter of 2025.
The 20-year contract will see SACC operate laundry services for hotels, resorts and other facilities located within the destination.
The deal is the latest struck by RSG as it gears up to opening to visitors later this year.
The announcement on Tadawul noted that the deal will boost the business sustainability of the SACC “by increasing the company's cash flow and enhancing the company's business.”
It added: “This contract is part of the strategic plan implemented by the company to attract investment opportunities in new industrial and tourist cities, noting that this contract will be subject to The Red Sea Global Board of Directors’ final sign off.”
Moreover, SACC also signed a design, build, operate, and transfer contract worth SR6.3 billion for a central production unit.
The new production unit for catering and facilities management is projected to cater to RSG’s employees at hotel establishments and resorts.
It will also service other facilities and sectors within the Red Sea destination, the company said in a statement to Tadawul.
Additionally, the two contracts will be subject to RSG board’s final sign-off, the statement said.
RSG is set to operate 50 resorts by 2030, with up to 8,000 hotel rooms and over 1,000 residential buildings spread across 22 islands and six inland areas.
Three of these resorts will open this year, and it is also set to welcome domestic flights and travelers to its airport.
RSG has been keen to involve Saudi firms in its development and operation.
In March, it organized a series of local and regional meetings highlighting projects being developed along the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast, as well as partnership opportunities with the company, in a bid to attract local bidders.
By the time the first of these meetings was held, 70 percent of existing contracts had already been awarded to Saudi companies.
Alongside this, the company is working to ensure half of its workforce are Saudi nationals.
In May, while speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market 2023 in Dubai, Tracy Lanza, global head of brand development at RSG, revealed the company was edging closer to hitting that target.
“The goal is 50-50 and we are nearly there, and I can say from a marketing standpoint, our team is at 67 percent and growing. We also have the largest percentage of Saudi women, I think, at the company,” said Lanza.