Red Sea Global, the developer of regenerative tourism hubs, The Red Sea and Amaala, is likely to spend another $27 billion over the next six years to push ahead with developments that are designed to draw more tourists to the kingdom, reported Bloomberg, citing its top official.
RSG has already spent around that amount to complete a third of the Red Sea project, which includes 24 resorts that are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025, said its CEO John Pagano.
The rest of the funding will come from a combination of equity and debt, he said in an interview with Bloomberg at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.
RSG had borrowed SAR14.1 billion in 2021 to help fund construction for the first phase.
First announced in 2017, the Red Sea project covers 28,000 sq km and is expected to eventually bring in hundreds of thousands of luxury travellers a year. The Red Sea coast includes an archipelago of 90 islands and the government is building new resorts in the region, as well as on the green mountains in the south near Yemen, said the report.
The project, fully owned by the state’s $930 billion sovereign wealth fund PIF, is securing about SAR14 billion ($3.7 billion) in financing next year to support the construction of Amaala, a wellness-focused destination featuring 29 hotels.
The Saudi wealth fund had announced plans on Tuesday to increase its domestic investments, aiming to reduce its global investments from 30% to 18% of its portfolio.
“We weren’t told to slowdown,” stated Pagano. “Within a year, there will be 24 hotels operating,” he added.
