World in Riyadh for a farsighted future

Last July, I was honored to play a minute role in promoting Riyadh City to host World Expo 2030.

With the theme “Riyadh: The City of the Future,” we hosted our annual economic forum at the London Stock Exchange with a league of distinguished government and private-sector speakers.

One of the keynote speakers at the forum was Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of Diriyah Gate Development Authority, who spoke about his UNESCO World Heritage city readiness for World Expo 2030.

Visiting the Kingdom has become easier than ever, given the unprecedented measures facilitating electronic visa issuance, making it available today to citizens of more than 59 countries worldwide.

The recent launch of the new airline, Riyadh Air, and King Salman International Airport in Riyadh, with its ambitious capacity of up to 120 million passengers over the next seven years, will help visitors to access the expo, Riyadh, and the rest of the Kingdom’s cities.

The projected revenues of the expo will be spread among several sectors.

The recent launch of the new airline, Riyadh Air, and King Salman International Airport in Riyadh, with its ambitious capacity of up to 120 million passengers over the next seven years, will help visitors access the expo, Riyadh, and the rest of the Kingdom’s cities.

The hospitality sector will generate about $5 billion, and the contracting sector will generate $11.5 billion.

The Kingdom has more than 400,000 hotel rooms and plans to have 854,000 new rooms by 2030. The business services and events management sector will generate about $28 billion.

Small enterprise spending is expected to generate about $5.5 billion. It is thought that the expo will create about 60,000 jobs annually until the date of the exhibition, with a total of about 420,000 jobs.

On the projected cost side, according to the nomination file, $7.8 billion has been allocated to host the expo, of which $5.85 billion will be for capital expenditures. Saudi Arabia will spend $343 million to help 100 countries participate and support technologies and events. The expo will extend over 6 million sq m.

The expo will spotlight the Kingdom’s economic and business potential, creating investment opportunities and establishing itself as a competitive and influential global state.

According to International Data Corporation, “with data and AI at the heart of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is developing its own AI strategy and policies, as well as the skills and resources required to implement them fully. AI is expected to contribute over $135 billion to the Saudi economy by 2030, equivalent to 12.4 percent of the GDP.”

Congratulations to the Saudi leadership and the nation for hosting the world in Riyadh.

Basil M.K. Al-Ghalayini is the chairman and CEO of BMG Financial Group.