RIYADH — Riyadh will be home to the world’s largest modern downtown, Saudi Arabia announced Thursday.
The New Murabba Development Company (NMDC) was launched by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman.
The New Murabba project will promote healthy, active lifestyles and community activities through green spaces, walking and cycling paths, and sustainability. It will have an iconic museum, a technology and design university, a multipurpose immersive theatre, and over 80 entertainment and culture venues.
The 19-square-kilometer project at King Salman and King Khalid roads in northwestern Riyadh will house hundreds of thousands of people. The project will have 25 million sqm of floor space, including 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, 980,000 sqm of retail space, 1.4 million sqm of office space, 620,000 sqm of leisure assets, and 1.8 million sqm of community facilities. It will finish in 2030.
The New Murabba project will have its own internal transport system and offer unique living, working, and entertainment within a 15-minute walk. 20 minutes from the airport.
NMDC will be responsible for the development of the project as well as the construction of the “Mukaab,” an exceptional iconic landmark that will feature the most recent innovative technologies. The “Mukaab” will be one of the world’s largest buildings, 400m high, 400m wide, and 400m long, with first-of-its-kind facilities. The cubic “Mukaab” will maximise space for icon development technologies.
The “Mukaab” will be the first immersive destination with digital, virtual, and holographic technology, inspired by modern Najdi architecture. The “Mukaab” will have a tower on a spiral base and 2 million sqm of floor space, making it a premium hospitality destination with a variety of retail, cultural, and tourist attractions, residential and hotel units, commercial spaces, and recreational facilities.
PIF launched NMDC to unlock promising sectors, enable the private sector and increase local content, develop real estate projects and local infrastructure, and diversify the Saudi economy’s income. By 2030, it will add SR180 billion to non-oil GDP and create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs.