Gulf Construction Online - Development firm set up for $20bn Diriyah Gate

Saudi Focus

Diriyah Gate ... to transform the historic Diriyah area.

Development firm set up for $20bn Diriyah Gate

01 May 2021

Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) has set up a new subsidiary company, Diriyah Development Company (DevCo) to handle the development activity taking place within its ambitious SR75-billion ($20 billion) Diriyah Gate development which is projected to increase by 450 per cent over last year.

Work is in full swing on the Phase One of Diriyah Gate masterplan, marking the beginning of a bold new era of construction and transformation for historic Diriyah, said the DGDA.

The new company DevCo will have its own board, structure and team led by its President Jonathan Timms. Currently DGDA’s chief design and development officer, Timms will be retaining his reporting line into CEO Jerry Inzerillo, it stated.

His existing role has been split between three new C-Suite roles as follows: Chief Development Officer; Chief Design Officer; and Chief Delivery Officer, while Mohamed Saad has been appointed as Chief Development Officer.

Currently a senior development director at DGDA, Saad has been with the company for over two years. In his new role, Saad will lead the development for two masterplans – Diriyah Gate and Wadi Safar, said the DGDA.

On the launch of DevCo, Inzerillo said: “Through operating this new company structure, we are preparing the company for expedited and imminent growth. Our dedicated leadership team continues to grow from strength to strength, and we are thrilled to be promoting this exceptional internal talent. We are also excited to be additionally searching the global market for further talent acquisition to fulfil our current C-suite vacancies,” he added.

Timms said: “2020 was an immensely successful year for all divisions of DGDA, including the great progress we achieved as a team on our core purpose to develop our three masterplans. Our development activity is progressing quickly as we move from a planning phase to the more intense detailed design and delivery phase.”

“Developing our Saudi team is just as important as the progression of our masterplans, and DGDA has been blessed with a large group of incredibly passionate and dedicated Saudi talent,” he added.

Timms pointed out that DGDA’s aspirations and targets for 2021 were very ambitious, with the level of development activity planned being a 450 per cent increase on that of 2020.

“We are also honoured to have been tasked by HRH The Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman with an ambitious new masterplan of more than 5 million sq m of gross floor area, which is more than four times the size of Diriyah Gate,” he observed.

“I am delighted to be spearheading this critical next stage of growth for the company and delivery of Phase One, and look forward to the rapid implementation of our next phase,” he added (See also Saudi Arabia Review, Page 54).