Saudi Arabia plans luxury beach resorts

Saudi Arabia is planning to turn hundreds of kilometres of its Red Sea coastline into a “semi-autonomous” luxury travel destination in an effort to boost the economy and reduce its reliance on oil

JORDAN  Petra
SAUDI ARABIA
IRAQ
EGYPT
SUDAN
Madain  Saleh
RED SEA
Medina
Riyadh
Mecca
YEMEN
OMAN

400km
250 miles

RED SEA PROJECT
Part of reform plan spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, new heir to Saudi throne

Construction due to start in 2019. First phase, including new airport, luxury hotels and housing, expected to be completed in 2022

Project will cover 50 islands and 34,000 sq km – area bigger than Belgium

Aims to generate $4bn a year and create 35,000 jobs

Laws “on par with international standards” mean restrictions on women’s dress, gender segregation and other conservative norms could be waived

Visitors will have access to ancient ruins at Madain Saleh – Unesco World Heritage site and relic of same civilization that built city of Petra in Jordan 

10km
6 miles
Al Wajh
Umluj
RED SEA


Pictures: AP, Google Earth      Sources: Vision 2030     © GRAPHIC NEWS