Project Description
Qiddiya is a giga-project being developed in the northwestern region of Saudi Arabia, about 40 kilometres from Riyadh. It is envisioned as a global destination for entertainment, sports, and the arts, offering immersive experiences.
Our relationship with Qiddiya spans multiple years and several distinct stages of the giga-project's evolution. From its original master plan through a fundamental re-scaling and into district-level delivery. What began as a cost allocation study became the foundation for a long-term advisory role: our early analysis was instrumental in the client's decision to re-master-plan the entire city, and that pivotal shift set the direction for everything that followed.
Project Scope
Phase 1: Financial Foundation
Commissioned to bring transparency to capital expenditure allocation across infrastructure and public realm projects. Delivered:
Benchmark study of industry best practice
Operational framework and strategy
Service catalogue and service standards
Governance strategy and legal structure plan
Technology platforms opinion paper
Master community cost allocation tool
Key outcome: our analysis showed the original development scale couldn't sustain its projected operating costs, the catalyst for re-master-planning Qiddiya to a 600,000-resident city. The client re-engaged us as sole source to build cost models for the master plan's most dense, high-activity district.
Phase 2: Giga-City Scale Operations
Engaged to build the operating framework for a re-scaled city of unprecedented scope. Delivered:
City Management Operations Model (core governance and organizational framework)
Facility and Community Management Operational Support Strategy
Budget Integration Report (operations budgets, service charges, cost recovery, aligned with Vision 2030)
Validated cost model confirming affordability at expanded scale
Outcome: a complete operational blueprint spanning city, zonal, and plot levels, positioning Qiddiya as a service-oriented giga-city built for millions of annual visitors.
Phase 3: District-Level Execution
Brought back to extend the operational frameworks across multiple districts. Delivered:
Estate Management Strategy (governance and long-term asset performance)
Operational Design Review (assessing designs against operational standards)
District-level cost models across three distinct areas
Outcome: district models integrated seamlessly with city-wide strategy informed by Phase 1 and 2 groundwork, and grounding city strategy in district-level reality.
The Value
Three engagements, one continuous relationship. Each phase built on institutional knowledge from the last, letting us deliver increasingly sophisticated, integrated frameworks for one of the region's most complex projects and a repeated re-engagement that reflects the trust placed in us at every stage.
