$22bn real estate project to transform Gulf coast

RIYADH - A real estate project on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast will attract investment of about 60 billion riyals ($22.4 billion) over the next 10 years, the developers say.

The Khalid S. Shobily Group has already spent 7 billion riyals developing the 6 million square metre strip of coastline in the city of Al Khobar.

"We aim to create a commercial, housing and leisure hub that's on a par with the best in the world," said Khalid al-Shobily, the firm's chairman and founder.

Work began four years ago on developing Al Shobily Port, which covers a prime spot next to a causeway connecting Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

"Demand has been excellent," Shobily said. "Investors spent 1.8 billion riyals buying plots over a five-hour sale held last week."

Several global companies have signed deals worth 4 billion riyals to build shops, apartments, a medical centre, a university and two hotels.

Shobily welcomed the introduction of regulations by the Saudi government to encourage more international firms to relocate to the country.

"This project will meet the requirements and needs of these firms and their employees," he said. "I expect a lot of them to choose Al Khobar over places like Dubai as Saudi Arabia is the economic powerhouse in the Gulf."

He estimates that 1.5 million homes will be built over the next few years to accommodate the fast-growing population.

- REUTERS