Italy’s Webuild Group wins $1bn mega-carpark construction contract at Diriyah Gate Development
1 million sqm, three-storey underground parking area will house 10,500 vehicles
Italy’s Webuild Group has announced that it has won a $1.07 billion contract to build a multistorey mega car park for 10,500 vehicles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the company said that the Diriyah Square – Package 2 Super-Basement Works contract includes a three-storey underground parking area with a total built up area of nearly 1 million square metres. The project has been commissioned by the Diriyah Gate Development Authority and will create more than 9,000 jobs; the statement added.
The mega car park is part of the Diriyah Gate Development, a massive 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 development will include the creation of a district along the Western Ring Road in north western 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 has been awarded to the Webuild Group via its subsidiary Salini Saudi Arabia and 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. The Group’s subsidiary Fisia Italimpianti also built the Shuaibah III Expansion II IWP desalination plant.
The company 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 is working on the expansion of the King Faisal Air Academy and King Salman Air Base.
