The Webuild Group has won a €940-million contract (VAT included) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to build a multistorey mega car park for 10,500 vehicles.
The Diriyah Square – Package 2 Super-Basement Works includes a three-storey underground parking area whilst the total built up area is almost 1 million square metres. Commissioned by the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, it will create more than 9,000 jobs.
The mega car park is part of the Diriyah Gate Development, an ambitious urban development project in Ad Diriyah, the historic district in Riyadh and a UNESCO heritage site. It aims to combine socioeconomic development opportunities while respecting the district’s cultural identity.
The Diriyah Gate Development will oversee the creation of a district along the Western Ring Road in northwestern Riyadh that will cover 7 square kilometres. The architecture and design of the district will take inspiration from the traditional Najdi style. It will include the development of a network of pedestrian streets, public squares, courtyards, souks and bazaars to recreate the authenticity of a Saudi village. The contract awarded to the Webuild Group through its subsidiary Salini Saudi Arabia is the core of the whole project. It includes civil and structural works, tunnels and other connections for the district’s huge car park.
Webuild has been active in Saudi Arabia since 1966, when it began hydraulic works in Mecca, Jeddah and Riyadh. It has since built 50 health centres, some large, as well as projects of international renown in Riyadh such as the Al Faisaliah District Redevelopment Project and the Kingdom Centre, an iconic work that was awarded the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2002 as best skyscraper in the world for design. The Group’s subsidiary Fisia Italimpianti also built the Shuaibah III Expansion II IWP desalination plant.
Webuild is currently working on Line 3, which at 42 kilometres is the longest of the lines that will make up the Riyadh metro system. It is also building the SANG Villas housing and urbanisation project in Riyadh, and the expansion of the King Faisal Air Academy and King Salman Air Base.