Saudi Giga Projects undergo recalibration, not retreat: Experts
Leading players in Saudi Arabia's construction industry yesterday emphasised that what may appear to be a slowdown in the kingdom's giga projects is, in fact, a strategic recalibration — not a retreat.
Addressing perceptions of delay, a panel of C-suite executives at the Saudi Giga Projects Summit 2025 in Riyadh underlined that with $1.3 trillion in construction activity projected by 2030, Saudi Arabia remains the world's most dynamic development market.
The panel featured: Charles Trad, CEO, Unimac; Ashraf Alameria, CEO, El-Seif Engineering Contracting; Husam Gawish, Partner and Head of Operations, HKA; Edward Surgeon, Regional Director MENA, Procore; and Saurabh Shekar, Principal, Kearney Middle East.
Surgeon remarked that 'the ambition here rivals Apollo 11,' adding that the real challenge now lies in building an ecosystem that attracts greater international collaboration.
The Saudi Giga Projects Summit 2025 (May 12–14) opened Monday in Riyadh, convening top construction leaders to advance a shared agenda for the kingdom's transformation.
With $288.6 billion worth of projects awarded in the past 12 months, the summit comes at a pivotal time for the sector — sharpening focus on continued development and delivery across Saudi Arabia.
Day One saw more than 500 leaders from 150 companies in attendance, setting the stage for a three-day programme featuring over 70 speakers, including CEOs, policymakers, and global tech innovators.
Attendees heard progress updates from Saudi Arabia's most renowned projects. Executives from Roshn Group, NEOM, Diriyah, and Red Sea Global offered rare insight into the challenges of delivering large-scale developments. Projects such as Roshn's Sedra community and Red Sea Global's zero-emission resorts are already welcoming residents and visitors, signalling a shift from planning to reality.
The panel discussion highlighted a common thread: the need for integrated collaboration, scalable delivery frameworks, and innovation in everything from workforce development to infrastructure logistics.
Philip Gullett, Executive Director and Region Head of Trojena at NEOM, described progress as 'a military operation,' referencing the complexity of managing roads, dams, hotels, and homes within a remote mountain terrain.
Key insights also came from Kingdom Holding Company, which confirmed that construction on the Jeddah Tower, poised to become the tallest building in the world at 1,005 metres, is well underway.
In a fireside chat with Colin Foreman, Editor at MEED, Talal Almaiman, CEO of Kingdom Holding, described the project as a powerful statement of national pride, remarking: 'Height is pride… and we are very proud of this country. I think Saudi Arabia deserves to have the tallest building in the world.'
A key thread across all sessions on Monday was the emergence of AI as an important factor in development. This was particularly crucial in a session with Howard Wu, Executive Director for International Investments and Manufacturing at Oxagon and Abdulaziz AlMubarak, Head of Business Development KSA at DataVolt, chaired by MEED's Energy and Technologies Editor, Jennifer Aguinaldo.
The session included key insights from Oxagon and DataVolt, looking at the importance of AI in today's project, and how this can be used responsibly as part of sustainable development.
The first day concluded with a session on Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) outlining their Plan of Work, benchmarking this across entities across the globe. Speaker Dale Sinclair, Head of Digital Innovation at WSP, outlined RIBA's process through 7 key stages of work.
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