Six Flags Qiddiya City (Saudi Arabia)
Views: 1,036,967 Subscribe

Has anyone heard anything about this project recently? I can't find much that is recent and all Saudi Arabia projects seem to be very, very quiet at the moment.

The most recent things I can find are concept art and layouts which don't seem all that new but haven't been shared here before.

The project is located in the Qiddiya region, southwest of the city of Riyadh, one hour away from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and the project will serve as the capital of entertainment, culture and arts

The city will also contain a number of records that will break records, such as:
* The fastest roller coaster in the world
* The tallest landing tower (Drop Tower) in the world
* The largest amusement park in the world

Source: https://www.sayidaty.net/node/1112781/%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B9/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85#photo/1

RIYADH, 20 July, 2020: The Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has continued to achieve its construction targets despite the current global pandemic situation, awarding a three year major stormwater drainage, roads and bridges contract to leading Saudi firm, Shibh Al Jazira Contracting Company (SAJCO).

“Although 2020 has presented some unprecedented circumstances, Qiddiya has proudly sustained a “business as usual” protocol, signing our second major construction contract with SAJCO and achieving yet another major construction milestone for this year. The stormwater drainage, roads and bridges will provide access to all facilities and assets on the lower plateau of our site, enabling the transport of key construction materials to the various development sites within Qiddiya’s lower plateau,” said Michael Reininger, Chief Executive Officer of QIC. “Once again, we are pleased to be working with an experienced Saudi company and we look forward to announcing even more major contracts later this year”.

This agreement includes the creation of 45 kilometers of roads and seven bridges and grade-separated interchanges that will provide access from the main approach highway, deep into Qiddiya’s Resort Core with its theme parks and other attractions, towards the Motion Zone, home to world-class motor racing facilities, and to Qiddiya’s spectacular Golf and Equestrian Community with its championship courses and beautiful residential offerings. To build these roads, SAJCO will excavate 6.5 million cubic meters of earth, utilize more than 80,000 cubic meters of concrete for the bridges and associated structures and 1.2 million square meters of asphalt for the road surfaces.

The construction has begun this month and will be completed by mid-May 2023. It will take over 1,000 skilled workers to complete the task.

“Since its foundation, SAJCO has been building important infrastructure, and it makes us proud to be part of developing a national giga-project like Qiddiya and to be selected as a key partner for this significant part of the journey. Another focus for us is to aid the National Transformation Program 2020 and the Saudi Vision 2030 and we are delighted to work with Qiddiya, as the giga project that will change the entertainment and economic landscape of Saudi forever,” said Zyad W. Suleiman, CEO of SAJCO.

Source: https://qiddiya.com/en/media/press-office/qiddiya-signs-sar-700-million-major-roads-bridges-contract/

Satellite Image of the site at the beginning of the year and now

CEO Michael Reininger and our development team visited the site to check on the progress of Qiddiya’s Resort Core mass grading project, where Six Flags Qiddiya, the Speed Park, the Water Theme Park and Retail, Dining & Entertainment area will be constructed.

Source: https://twitter.com/qiddiya/status/1263482916841062401/

Not directly related to the Six Flags park in Riyadh, but nevertheless important in that context:

The rapid spread of the coronavirus across the United States has already forced amusement park operator Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) to close down its parks through mid-May (at least) and slash its dividend by two-thirds.

Today, that dividend went away entirely.

In a press release issued after the close of trading on the NYSE Wednesday, Six Flags recapped the measures it has already taken, or is in the process of taking, to give it "additional liquidity and financial flexibility" to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Among these, Six Flags will:

1. Eliminate "nearly all of its seasonal labor costs."
2. Cut the salaries of employees and executives by 25%.
3. Cease advertising and marketing activities.
4. Cut $30 million to $40 million of "additional non-labor operating costs."

Now, the company is taking further measures, which will include deferring $40 million to $50 million worth of capital projects that were scheduled to take place this year, taking on an additional $131 million in debt, and suspending both the payment of dividends and the repurchasing of stock "until the earlier of December 31, 2021, or such time as the company terminates the incremental $131 million of the new revolving credit facility commitments."

Source:
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/six-flags-suspends-dividend-withdraws-guidance-2020-04-08

Large-scale mass grading work continues at Qiddiya’s Resort Core - in compliance with all the required health and safety measures - as we set out to fulfil Qiddiya’s promise for a brighter and fun-filled future.

Here's a little bit of Q1 2020 Google satellite imagery.

Six Flags site:






Qiddiya site office:

Here's the current state of the area, but that could be changing soon as groundwork begins to ramp up shortly:

Qiddiya has awarded a contract to Saudi Pan Kingdom Company (SAPAC) to build perimeter fencing as construction ramps up at the site.

SAPAC, an established Saudi construction company, will place security fencing around the entire premises of Qiddiya, the Kingdom's Capital of Entertainment, Sports and the Arts. This first layer of security will enable a slew of construction projects, set to begin this year, to begin bringing in heavy construction machinery and restrict unauthorized access to the site.

"With the signing of this 12-month contract, the first phase of developing Qiddiya's security protocol has commenced. We are proud to work with an experienced Saudi company as we set out to create the Kingdom?s Capital of Entertainment, Sports and the Arts," said Salman Al-Hubeis, Executive Director Infrastructure & Area Development at Qiddiya.

The contract work includes 440,000 sq. meters of site clearing as part of the site preparation process, 20 km of security fencing, and 23 km of cable barriers, as well as 1 million cubic meters of earthworks to be filled.

Saleh Bin Salim Al-Harbi, CEO of SAPAC, said: "For over 25 years, we've worked with leading firms in the country. We are thrilled to work with Qiddiya, a project which is set to change the landscape of entertainment in the Kingdom. To facilitate construction at the site, securing the premises is going to be the first step."

Sources: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8GeQi_nW5N/ and http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/588551