WORLD / MID-EAST
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Project identifies location of overwater villas, hotels
Published: May 02, 2020 04:01 PM

File photo taken on March 29, 2020 shows the Red Sea Project site on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. The Red Sea Project, one of Saudi Arabia's most ambitious tourism projects, has recently identified the location of its overwater villas and hotels, the Red Sea Development Company said in a press release on May 1, 2020. (The Red Sea Development Company/Handout via Xinhua)

The Red Sea Project, one of Saudi Arabia's most ambitious tourism projects, has recently identified the location of its overwater villas and hotels, the Red Sea Development Company said in a press release on Friday.

The company, developer behind the luxury tourism project, revealed recently the positioning of its overwater assets, including villas, restaurants and hotel arrival points for two hyper-luxury hotels and one luxury hotel on Sheybarah South and Ummahat Al-Shaykh islands on the kingdom's west coast.

"The marking of locations for our overwater assets is another milestone for the project, and is indicative of the progress being made at the site," said John Pagano, CEO of the Red Sea Development Company.

"The identification of suitable locations will allow our hotels and other assets to coexist in harmony with their surroundings" without damage to coral reefs, Pagano added.

The Red Sea Project will open to its first guests at the end of 2022. The entire project is set to be completed by 2030 when 22 islands and six inland sites will be developed with a capacity of 8,000 hotel rooms.

The Red Sea Project is one of three giga-projects announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in 2017, in a bid to open new areas of economic activity in line with the kingdom's Vision 2030, the blueprint for diversifying Saudi economy.