Saudi Arabia’s development sector is accelerating quickly, fuelled by giga-project investments, financial diversification, and the ambitions of Imaginative and prescient 2030, in keeping with international skilled providers firm Turner & Townsend.
The agency’s KSA Market Intelligence 2025 report highlights how the Kingdom is capitalising on a $1.7tn pipeline of actual property, infrastructure, and industrial developments, whereas navigating labour shortages, rising materials prices, and lengthy procurement lead instances.
Regardless of these challenges, the market is displaying resilience. Initiatives to localise provide chains, upskill the workforce, and undertake trendy strategies of development are serving to to construct long-term capability.
Saudi development sector
Turner & Townsend’s International Development Market Intelligence (GCMI) report discovered that the majority purchasers in Saudi Arabia are investing in digital supply platforms to streamline prices, overcome workforce limitations, and enhance effectivity.
The adoption of Programme Administration Consultancy (PMC) fashions can also be gaining traction. In contrast to conventional approaches, PMC provides portfolio-level oversight by integrating governance, stakeholder alignment, and digital programs throughout a number of tasks to make sure effectivity and long-term worth.
In accordance with the report, construct prices stay excessive, with Riyadh now one of many area’s costliest cities at $3,112 per sqm.
Nonetheless, investor confidence is powerful, notably in sectors equivalent to:
- Tourism
- Logistics
- Digital infrastructure
- Residential improvement
Blended-use locations, sports activities, leisure, and hospitality are additionally booming, supported by mega-events equivalent to Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034.
Industrial progress is rising, pushed by logistics, e-commerce, and information centres, underpinned by nationwide programmes like NIDLP and the launch of HUMAIN, a PIF-owned AI firm.
In the meantime, housing stays a key pillar of Imaginative and prescient 2030. Initiatives equivalent to Sakani, which goals to attain 70 per cent homeownership by 2030, are boosting residential development and shaping the Kingdom’s city panorama.
Kobus Havemann, Director at Turner & Townsend within the Center East, mentioned: “Saudi Arabia’s financial system is projected to be the second quickest rising on this planet this yr. The knock-on-effect is its development sector is at a transformative inflection level. Giga-projects are reshaping the panorama, whereas infrastructure, housing and digital platforms are converging to ship the ambitions of Imaginative and prescient 2030.
“Whereas value and capability pressures persist, the market is displaying agility with contractors embracing new applied sciences, worldwide partnerships rising, and coverage reform supporting funding confidence. The main target now have to be on capability-building, supply excellence, and sustainable progress.”