Half of the costs will be paid by foreign investors

Take skift

Diriyah Gate wants more than half of the development costs to be covered by foreign investors. That is more foreign direct investment than the entire country brought in last year.

Jos Corder

Diriyah Gate, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest and most expensive projects, has so far been financed by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF. But Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, is confident that at least half of the $64 billion budget will eventually be covered by foreign investors.

“This morning I met an Italian investor who operates two hotels and an apartment complex with us,” Inzerillo told Skift on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. “We (Diriyah) build those hotels, but the investor takes out that equity. Then we had a Colombian (investor) who wanted to invest in a fund to finance all our (37) hotels. Big numbers, we’re talking almost $2 billion. Then come the Emirates, the Kuwaitis and the rest of the GCC.”

Inzerillo added: “We have already spent $15 billion of the $64 billion. We will spend the whole 64, but I am confident that by 2030 at least half of that will be spent on foreign investment.”

It’s a lofty goal considering the Kingdom as a whole had $26 billion in foreign investment last year, Investment Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih said on stage at the same event.

Al-Falih said: “FDI (foreign direct investment) is ahead of target. Last year we recorded $26 billion in foreign direct investment. Foreign investors in Saudi Arabia vote with their money and their feet. The number of international companies founded in Saudi Arabia is ten times greater than before the Vision (2030) was announced.”

Inzerillo previously told Skift this that Diriyah is on track to be completed by 2030, in time for the World Expo in Riyadh that year.

Diriyah’s real estate company

Some of the money will come from large investors, and some will come in much smaller pieces. The launch of branded homes in Diriyah is an example of this.

As is often seen in Dubai, Diriyah sells properties branded by luxury hotel groups. Ritz-Carlton, Oberoi, Capella, Baccarat and other apartments and villas from other brands are all currently being sold.

“We had 120 Ritz-Carlton apartments, we kept a few in our pockets for important people, but we sold more than 110. We just had the co-CEOs of Oberoi in Diriyah and we have 10 branded villas, eight of which have been sold. Baccarat homes are for sale and Capella is for sale. We are doing well on the sales side. They will probably be occupied in 2026.”

In July, Diriyah went to Harrods department store in London to pitch these properties to international buyers. The highlight of the event was the presentation of 350 homes.

Inzerillo’s comments come at a time when the media is increasingly scrutinizing how the Saudi government spends its money. Inzerillo spoke to the Financial Times this month about how its tourism development is “very, very conscious” of its spending.

‘You probably saw what I said to the Financial times,” he told Skift. “We (Diriyah) want to be careful. Of course, it’s not just about responsible spending, but geopolitically you don’t know where things are going. You have to be aware, geopolitically.”

Foreign investments in other mega projects

In late April, BlackRock said it would get as much as $5 billion from PIF to invest in the region and build a network. Riyadh-based investment team.

That same month, Saudi flew dozens of bankers to Neom – Saudi’s largest project – to explore “collaboration opportunities,” Neom’s CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr said in a statement. The event attracted representatives from 24 international banks and financial institutions, including those from Europe, the US and the region.

According to media reports, parts of Neom, including The Line, have been scaled back. But according to Inzerillo, that could only reflect shifting priorities to other Saudi projects.

“Look, everyone is focused on what they think Neom has trouble with it. Here’s how to look at it: A lot of money was originally allocated to Neom, but that money didn’t take into account the fact that the Kingdom would win the bid for the 2029 Winter Games in Troy. So now that the whole world is going there to attend the Winter Games, you have to put a lot of money into building Troy.”

“Trojena could have been built before The Line, but now it’s before The Line. You need Trojena for 2029. A large part of this is not austerity, on the contrary. It shifts where the money goes.”

Neom did not respond to a request for comment from Skift.