Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) announced the plans for a new ambitious development project to build in the country’s capital Riyadh, named, “The Mukaab” which means a cube in Arabic. According to the developers, the structure will become the largest inner-city building in the world. The skyscraper would be large enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings and would house hundreds of thousands of residents.
Plans for the Mukaab or New Murabba downtown were announced on February 16 by MBS who is also the Chairman of the New Murabba Development Company (NMDC). The aforementioned company is a newly founded business venture by the Saudi Crown Prince and will manage the project. It aims to develop the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh, in line with Saudi Vision 2030. The skyscraper will be in the shape of a cube measuring 400 metres in height, 400 metres in width, and 400 metres in length.
The design for the cube is said to be the region’s traditional Najdi architectural style. The Mukaab will be developed by Saudi Arabia’s NMDC using the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) which is the MBS-led $620 billion sovereign wealth fund. According to Arab news, the “immersive experiential” structure will house 2 million square metres of floor space. The project would also become the tallest structure in the city.
(Photo: Handout/New Murabba)
The cube-like structure which developers say will be the world’s largest modern downtown and “the new face of Riyadh”, will also be the first immersive destination which would be created by the latest digital and virtual holographic technology. The project also comes two years after the Saudi Crown Prince announced his $500 billion futuristic NEOM city in the northwest of the country.
The New Murabba project will be located in the capital city at the intersection of King Salman and King Khalid roads in the northwest of Riyadh, as per Arab news. It will also offer unique living, working and entertainment experiences within a 15-minute walking radius and will have its own internal transport system, said the PIF. It added that it will also be just a 20-minute drive from the country’s King Khalid International Airport.
“The world’s first immersive, experiential destination. Where hospitality, retail and leisure reach new levels, all in breathtaking, ever-changing environments. A gateway to another world”, said the New Murabba website. The total project will span over 25 million square metres of floor area which will be home to more than 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, and more than 80 entertainment and cultural venues.
(Photo: Handout/New Murabba)
In a statement, the PIF also said that the project will be centred around the concept of sustainability and will include features like green spaces and paths for walking and cycling in a bid to promote healthy, active lifestyles and community activities. The Mukaab will also comprise an iconic museum, a technology and design university, and a multipurpose immersive theatre.
Additionally, 980,000 square metres will be dedicated to retail space, 1.4 million square metres as office space, and another 1.8 million square metres of community facility space along with a technology and design-focused university. The project which is expected to finish by 2030 will contribute SAR180 billion ($47 billion) to non-oil GDP and create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs in the next seven years, said the PIF.
The promotional video by the New Murabba looks like something out of a sci-fi movie featuring space pods, dragons, and even floating rocks. The structure will add over 19 square kilometres to the capital city and will help make Riyadh, “one of the Top 10 most livable cities in the world”. It will also encompass a tower atop a spiral base where the aforementioned spaces and activities will be housed.
Discussions surrounding the project
In an interview with Arab news, Yasser Elsheshtawy, adjunct professor of architecture at Columbia University and non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said, “There is a tendency among Western and Arab observers to dismiss such projects out of hand, describing them as acts of folly, and the outcome of people with too much money”.
He added, “But if we look at it objectively, it is much more than that. Having been involved with one of the teams that were invited to compete for the project, I can attest that there is serious thinking involved in such schemes.” Furthermore, he believes that The Mukaab will provide Riyadh with a “unique icon” which will make the city synonymous with it, like the Eiffel Tower or the Sydney Opera House.
The ambitious project has certainly garnered a lot of attention, and analysts say that Saudi Arabia is announcing these projects in a bid to catch up with its neighbouring Dubai and the capital city of Qatar Doha. The kingdom has witnessed years of bad press for its alleged human rights abuses and seems like it is working to shed its perceived image as an oil-rich and conservative state.
Speaking to CNN, Andreas Krieg, a research fellow at the King’s College London Institute of Middle Eastern Studies said, “Back in the day, you would have negative discussions about Saudi Arabia affiliated to human rights abuses…But now they’re trying to push new narratives of being a country of development and one that can build futuristic cities.”
Saudi Arabia has also “spent decades not attracting foreign, non-Muslim visitors,” said Simon Henderson from The Washington Institute, as per CNN. Furthermore, while the kingdom has also announced more than 10 such mega projects over the past couple of years reports suggest that the work on them has been slow, which has led many to speculate it might not finish anytime soon.
(With inputs from agencies)
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