Saudi-Chinese venture wins Qiddiya stadium contract

• China’s Fangda holds a 51% stake
• Facades to weather extreme conditions
• World Cup projects remain a priority

Saudi Arabia has awarded a contract for the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium in the Qiddiya giga-project to a joint venture between Saudi and Chinese companies.

The stadium, built on a cliff overlooking Qiddiya, will host fixtures at the 2034 Fifa World Cup. The main construction contract for the stadium, awarded in October last year, totalled SAR4 billion ($1.1 billion). Qiddiya is a Saudi Arabian entertainment city located 40km southwest of Riyadh.

This announcement follows a report by Semafor, citing unidentified sources, that the Public Investment Fund, the $906 billion sovereign wealth fund, planned to cancel five new World Cup stadiums.

The Saudi government has not commented on the report.

In March, AGBI reported that PIF had ordered cuts across more than 100 companies. However, projects associated with high-profile upcoming events, including the men’s football World Cup, have been marked as a priority.

The kingdom had earmarked 15 stadiums to host the World Cup. Some are existing structures undergoing varying degrees of renovation, but most are being built from scratch.

In December, Shireen Hamdan, global director of architectural company Populous, which is responsible for 11 stadiums in Saudi Arabia, told AGBI that the stadium should “start taking shape by the middle of next year”.

Chinese curtain wall contractor the Fangda Group said in a statement that its joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s IKK Group won a SAR1.1 billion ($293 million) contract to design, supply and install curtain walls for the 45,000-seat stadium.

Shihui International, a subsidiary of Fangda, holds a 51 percent stake in the joint venture, while the Saudi partner owns the remainder.

• PIF spending cuts slow giga-projects and trigger layoffs
• Qiddiya’s $1bn MBS Stadium on track despite cutbacks
• Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid outlines 11 new stadiums

Under the deal, the curtain walls should withstand cliff-top high wind loads, sandstorms and extreme temperatures.

The duration of the contract is 863 days, the statement said.

Qiddiya this week also awarded a construction contract for its flagship tennis centre despite escalating Houthi attacks on sites across the kingdom.

A subsidiary of Advanced Building Industries Company (Senaat) won a SAR308 million contract to fabricate and install steel structures and external facades for the National Tennis Centre.