December 04, 2024

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South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group said Oct. 30 it will join a massive entertainment city development project in Saudi Arabia, with its affiliates taking part in various areas from construction to electronics.

Under an agreement with Qiddiya Investment Company, Samsung will collaborate with Saudi officials on the development of an entertainment hub in Qiddiya, 40 kilometers southwest of Riyadh.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the two sides at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh.

Samsung C&T, Samsung’s construction unit, will build a sports complex, while Samsung Electronics will become Qiddiya’s primary technology sponsor. Samsung will also get co-branding and naming rights for some of Qiddiya’s facilities.

Neither side revealed the value of the deal.

The project involves building theme parks, resorts, hotels and shopping malls on a 334-square-kilometer site -- about twice the size of Washington, DC.

The first phase of the project is expected to be finished by 2022, with final completion set for 2035.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)