Saudi Arabia’s construction industry is gearing up for billions of dollars worth of work as the kingdom continues to make progress in delivering stadiums for football’s Fifa World Cup 2034.

Local construction companies in joint ventures with internationals from Spain, Belgium and China have already won stadium construction deals, and with additional projects being tendered, more contract awards are expected soon. 

The event requires a minimum of 14 all-seater stadiums, of which at least four should be existing structures. There must be at least 80,000 seats for the opening and final matches and at least 60,000 for the semi-finals. A minimum of 40,000 seats is needed for all other matches.

Saudi Arabia will likely invest hundreds of billions of dollars in developing infrastructure for the event. The scale of the construction is guaranteed to offer massive amounts of work to contractors for years to come. The programme will also require close collaboration between local and experienced international contractors willing to participate in the scheme.

According to the official bid book document, the kingdom will construct 11 new stadiums as part of its bid to host the Fifa World Cup 2034.

Saudi Arabia will have 15 stadiums ready to host the event, and most of these are expected to be floated to the market in the next few years.

Progress so far

The kingdom has already made solid progress in preparing to host the event, awarding multibillion-dollar contracts for constructing four stadiums recently.

In December 2024, Saudi Arabia’s Sports Ministry awarded local contractor Saudi Binladin Group a contract to undertake the expansion works for redeveloping the stadium at King Fahd Sports City in Riyadh.

The expansion will increase the stadium’s capacity from 68,752 seats to 92,000 seats.

The biggest stadium contract was awarded in January 2024, when PIF-backed Jeddah Central Development Company awarded an estimated SR6.7bn ($1.8bn) deal to construct the Jeddah Central stadium and its surrounding buildings.

The contract was awarded to Beijing-headquartered China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and the local contractor Sama Construction for Trading & Contracting.

The stadium will have the capacity to accommodate 46,000 spectators and is expected to be completed by 2026.

This was followed by an estimated SR3.7bn ($1bn) contract awarded in February 2024 by Saudi Aramco to build a new football stadium in Dammam.

The contract was awarded to a joint venture of Belgian contractor Besix and the local Albawani.

The stadium and the surrounding masterplan will be built over an area of about 800,000 sq m and will accommodate 45,000 spectators.

Saudi Arabia’s gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company also awarded an estimated SR3.7bn ($1bn) contract in October 2024 to build the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium at the Qiddiya City project on the outskirts of Riyadh.

The contract was awarded to a joint venture of Spanish firm FCC Construction and the local firm Nesma & Partners.

The stadium will have a capacity of 45,000 spectators and will feature a fully combined retractable pitch, roof and LED wall.

Future prospects

The biggest and most significant of the upcoming stadium schemes is the King Salman Stadium, which will be located north of Riyadh. The stadium, designed by the US-based architectural firm Populous, will be the showpiece venue for the tournament. It will cover an area of about 660,000 square metres (sq m) and have a seating capacity of over 92,000 spectators.

The tendering activity is expected to begin by the end of this year. The stadium will host the opening and final games of the Fifa World Cup 2034 tournament.

Construction is expected to be completed by 2029.

Other stadiums in the pipeline include the New Murabba Stadium, Roshn Stadium, South Riyadh Stadium, Qiddiya Coast Stadium, King Abdullah Economic City Stadium and Neom Stadium.

In August, Saudi gigaproject developer Roshn received revised commercial proposals from contractors for a contract to build the new stadium, located adjacent to the National Guard facilities southwest of Riyadh.

It will be delivered on an early contractor involvement (ECI) basis and cover an area of more than 450,000 square metres and will be able to accommodate 46,000 spectators.

Procurement has also started on the expansion of Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh. On 14 August, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport (MoS), in collaboration with the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) and the Riyadh Region Municipality, issued an expression of interest and request for qualifications notice for the development of the project.

The project will be delivered as a public-private partnership (PPP) under a design, build, finance, operate and maintain model, with a contract duration of 20 to 30 years.

The stadium will have a capacity of about 47,000 spectators.

It will host major domestic and international football events, including matches during the 2034 Fifa World Cup.

The scheme is the first of several stadiums expected to be delivered on a PPP basis in preparation for the 2034 Fifa World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

With Riyadh pausing its gigaproject spending to prioritise event-driven projects, there is a greater emphasis on public-private partnership projects using private-sector funding to deliver the projects.

This is leading to more openness about project plans and improved transparency regarding issues and strategies, as the kingdom seeks to attract foreign investment in sectors that have been traditionally closed for foreign investment.

The most striking developments in this direction took place in July when the kingdom announced the winning bidders for the rights to own and operate three sports clubs in the kingdom.

The agreement marks the first time a foreign investor has owned a Saudi football club, with US-based investment firm Harburg Group winning ownership rights to Al-Kholood Football Club.

This was followed by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport (MoS), in collaboration with the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) and the Riyadh Region Municipality invited interest for the development of the Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Sports City in Riyadh on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

The stadium will be procured under a design, build, finance, operate and maintain model, with a contract duration of 20 to 30 years.

It involves the construction of a stadium in the north of King Abdullah Park in the Al-Malaz area of Riyadh, with a capacity of about 47,000 spectators. The stadium will host major domestic and international football events, including matches during the 2034 Fifa World Cup.

As Saudi Arabia accelerates preparations to host the Fifa World Cup in 2034, momentum is building across the kingdom’s construction sector to chart out strategies to deliver the stadiums and its associated infrastructure.