Jeddah Corniche ... the inaugural Saudi F1 will be staged as a street race next year.
Revving up
The announcement last month that the inaugural Saudi Formula One race will be held in Jeddah has brought cheer to the Red Sea city as it is expected to provide a fillip to the real estate and hospitality sector.
01 December 2020
The news that the 2021 Formula One calendar will feature a brand-new race in Saudi Arabia, which will make its debut in Jeddah has sent ripples of excitement in the Red Sea port city’s real estate and hospitality sectors, apart from obviously among sport enthusiasts.
The event will see the world’s best drivers battle on city streets in a spectacular night race during the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix scheduled to be held on November 28, 2021. The final track layout is still to be confirmed, but it is expected to be along Jeddah Corniche, a 30-km coastal resort area of the city on the shores of the Red Sea, providing a stunning coastal backdrop for a full weekend of live motorsport, entertainment and culture.
The 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the first in a long-term partnership between Formula 1 and the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), which has appointed long-time F1 track architect Hermann Tilke to design the track. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Faisal, the President of Saudi Arabia’s motorsport federation, told RaceFans.net that Tilke has been chosen because of its experience and the limited time available to complete the circuit.
“Given the time that we have, we found out that the best option for us is to go directly with Tilke,” he said. “We need to work very fast and it’s a street circuit, it’s not like a new project starting from scratch so we wanted to bring someone that has experience both in the street and circuit races.”
The prince said the track layout is “80 per cent set”. A key goal in the track design will be to create opportunities for overtaking, he added.
“We don’t want it to be just another race. We wanted to do something special, we want it to be a different race, we want it to be the best race,” Prince Khalid was quoted as saying.
Tilke has designed the Sepang International Circuit, Bahrain International Circuit and Shanghai International Circuit, Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Valencia Street Circuit, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Korea International Circuit and the Buddh International Circuit in India.
There are plans for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to move eventually to Qiddiya, a planned entertainment resort about an hour’s drive from the capital Riyadh, once a permanent circuit has been built and as part of a long-term deal.
Nevertheless, the world-class event on Jeddah’s calendar for next year is expected to give impetus to many of the city’s projects which are under way or have been put on the backburner.
Among those making headway is the Jeddah Park shopping centre, construction on which is 85 per cent complete, and is scheduled to open in Q2 2021. The project is being developed by Saudi Arabia’s biggest mall developer and operator Arabian Centres Company (ACC). Jeddah Park will bring 129,000 sq m of gross leasable area (GLA), comprising a large cineplex, boasting 15 screens and 1,541 seats, as well as a broad range of retail offerings, entertainment facilities and a hypermarket. ACC is also expected to start construction of U Walk Jeddah, based on U Walk Riyadh’s open shopping centre model, which is expected to open in 2023. It will have total built-up area of 73,000 sq m and include 190 stores, high-end restaurants and cafes, an entertainment section and a cinema.
In the hospitality sector, some 40 new hotels are in the pipeline for Jeddah, of which more than half are five-star properties, according to the Tophotelprojects construction database.
Some 12 properties and 3,104 rooms are expected to open in 2021. These include Shangri-La Hotel & Residences Jeddah which will offer 14 luxurious rooms and 122 spacious residences overlooking the Red Sea.
Things will be quieter again in 2022, with only three projects and 640 keys signed off so far, although for 2023 and beyond, a staggering 21 more hotels with 5,872 rooms are planned, the report states.
Some of the leading chains which have properties being developed in the port city include Novotel, which leads the list of Jeddah’s fastest-growing brands by virtue of its three upcoming openings, spanning 750 rooms.
Both Grand Hyatt and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts are planning two new hotels each in the city, with 1,156 rooms and 475 keys respectively.
Among other developments, Four Seasons Jeddah Corniche, providing 275 luxurious rooms and serviced apartments overlooking the Red Sea as part of a mixed-use complex, has an opening date set for early 2022.
Also planned as part of another masterplanned mixed-use development community being developed by Emaar Middle East, is the 202-room Vida Jeddah Gate.
Meanwhile, leading hotel chain IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Saudi-based Arif Group to bring a new voco hotel to Jeddah. A new-build property, vocoJeddah North will feature 145 rooms and will open to guests in Q1 2022.
Being one of the closest hotels to the new Jeddah airport, offering 1,710 sq m of meeting and banqueting space, the hotel will be positioned as a perfect destination for upscale corporate guests and will be well suited for their Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and events) requirements.
