The gigaprojects programme is at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision to transform the kingdom into a tourism and entertainment hub while creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Vision 2030, launched in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, aims to uplift the quality of life of Saudi citizens and shift the kingdom’s economy from its dependence on hydrocarbons.

By September 2025, almost $116.6bn-worth of contracts had been awarded to date. The highlights for 2025 included a $1.5bn contract to build the Arena Block, a district that includes the multi-purpose indoor Diriyah Arena, three mixed-use office buildings and a parking facility in Boulevard Southwest as part of the Diriyah development programme phase two. This project was awarded in June 2025 to China Harbour Engineering Company.

The highlights for 2025 included a $1.5bn contract to build the Arena Block at Diriyah

However, during the third quarter of 2025, new contract awards for gigaprojects dropped significantly compared to the record-setting years of 2023 and 2024. Industry experts attributed this slowdown to a shift in focus from ambitious planning to the delivery of existing projects and a temporary hold on spending.

These awards appear to confirm the consensus in Saudi Arabia that the focus for development is on projects that are underpinned by events. These include Trojena, which will host the Asian Winter Games in 2029; stadiums for the Asian Cup in 2027 and the Fifa World Cup in 2034; as well as Expo 2030 Riyadh and the Asian Games in 2034.

Top performers

Neom is unsurprisingly the leading client, with roughly $45bn-worth of contracts awarded. It will likely retain this position for a long time, given that its size far outmatches any other gigaproject.

Red Sea Global (including Amaala) has awarded nearly $11.6bn-worth of work to date. Being one of the first to be announced, it is the most advanced of the gigaprojects, and its expenditure reflects this as it nears the end of its first phase.

At the opposite end of the programne, projects such as Soudah Peaks and Al-Wadi have awarded construction contracts of less than $100m to date. The projects have been launched relatively recently and are therefore still very much in the planning stages.