King Salman launches Saudi Arabia's 'answer to Disneyland'

Saudi ruler inaugurates construction of 130-sq-mile entertainment park near Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has launched the construction of an “entertainment city” near Riyadh, part of a series of multibillion dollar projects aimed at helping the oil-dependent kingdom diversify its economy.

The project is part of a sweeping reform and investment programme known as Vision 2030, the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also attended the ceremony on Saturday evening.

Authorities have touted the 130-sq-mile (334 sq km) project in Qiddiya, south-west of the capital, as the kingdom’s answer to Disneyland.

Its first phase, which includes high-end theme parks, motor sport facilities and a safari area, is expected to be completed in 2022, officials say.

They hope the park will draw in foreign investment and attract 17 million visitors by 2030.

Saudi Arabia also hosted its first public film screening in more than 35 years this month, after lifting a decades-long ban on cinemas last year.

Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority said in February it would stage more than 5,000 festivals and concerts in 2018, double last year’s figure, and pump $64bn (£46bn)) into the sector in the coming decade.

Saudis spend billions of dollars a year to see films and visit amusement parks in neighbouring tourist hubs such as Dubai and Bahrain.

The kingdom has also sought to court investors with three hi-tech “giga projects”, funded in part by its sovereign wealth fund.

Aside from Qiddiya, the kingdom has unveiled blueprints for NEOM – billed as a regional Silicon Valley to be built from scratch – and a reef-fringed Red Sea resort.

Sceptics have questioned the viability of the projects, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, in an era of cheap oil.

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