Saudi Arabia woos the wealthy with mansions, polo, golf and Trump

Boasting a polo club and a Trump-branded golf resort that hugs the desert landscape, the new Wadi Safar mansion district under construction in Saudi Arabia’s $63 billion Diriyah Gate project is emerging as a key part of the kingdom’s campaign to market itself abroad.

The development, which is being built near the mud-brick ruins of the country’s At-Turaif tribal center and a short ride from Riyadh’s shimmering glass skyscrapers, is now in the early stages of its four-year phased opening and is set to form the core of the massive Diriyah venture.

This week, Diriyah is center-stage at Saudi Arabia’s national pavilion in Davos, Switzerland, where CEO Jerry Inzerillo and other executives are wooing the thousands of wealthy investors who attend the World Economic Forum.

As construction crews lay the foundations for Wadi Safar’s plush gated communities, a cluster of luxury hotels is rising in the fledgling town’s main commercial section that will also contain designer boutiques, restaurants, a contemporary art museum and a 2,000-seat opera house. Ultimately, Diriyah is slated to house 100,000 people and serve as a new urban center in the Riyadh metropolitan area.

“You don’t build a city for five or ten years – you build it for the next 100 to 500 years,” Nawaf Rajeh, a senior executive at Diriyah Co., said in an interview with The Circuit.

Still, the ambition behind Diriyah may collide with budget pressures from Saudi Arabia’s fluctuating oil revenues, raising the possibility that the project will be trimmed back or slowed down. Officials are already reassessing the pace and scope of some megadevelopments such as the futuristic Neom project, where projected costs have swelled to more than $1 trillion. 

Diriyah Co. is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s primary sovereign wealth fund that also backs Neom, the Trojena ski resort, the Qiddiya sports and entertainment city and the ancient AlUla desert oasis.

Another feature of Wadi Safar will be its high-end hotels, starting with The Oberoi, scheduled to open by the end of this year, followed by the Aman, Faena and Six Senses properties.

Eric Trump, the President’s son, showed up at Diriyah just after New Year’s with Saudi real estate developer Dar Global to launch the Trump International Golf Club, Wadi Safar, along with a Trump Hotel and Trump-branded residences . The venture will feature its own golf course – separate from the one already operating that was designed by Australia’s Greg Norman, the two-time British Open winner who was CEO of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league.

The possibility of building the resort was likely mentioned last May when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted U.S. President Donald Trump for an opulent state dinner at the At-Turaif citadel, strolling to the site on a stone path flanked by mounted horsemen toting American and Saudi flags.

Diriyah’s most visible public zone is Bujairi Terrace, a dining and retail district overlooking At-Turaif. On most evenings, when the walls are lit up to emit a warm glow, restaurants and cafés draw a steady mix of locals and visitors. 

At-Turaif dates back to the 18th century and served as the political capital of the first Saudi state. Built from local mud in the architectural style of the indigenous Najdi tribe, it is recognized by UNESCO as a historical landmark offering insight into early efforts at urban planning in the Middle East.

Cultural institutions are prominent in the plans for Wadi Safar. Among the attractions under construction are the Royal Diriyah Opera House, the Diriyah Arena, the Asaan, the Misk Heritage Museum, and a museum dedicated to Saudi Arabia’s equestrian culture. The aim, according to developers, is to establish Diriyah as a cultural district bubbling with creativity rather than a static historical zone.

“What Westminster is to London, Diriyah is to Riyadh,” said Rajeh, who serves as Diriyah Co.’s Executive Director of Development and Innovation Marketing. 

Located about 15 minutes from central Riyadh and 25 minutes from King Khalid International Airport, Diriyah is positioned to function as both a residential district and a major tourism destination. Once complete in 2030, the project is expected to contribute more than $18 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP and tally some 50 million visits annually to the site.

Beyond tourism, Diriyah is planned as a full-scale urban center with 16 schools and a university, 31 mosques, offices and transit-linked infrastructure. More than 17 kilometers of pedestrian, cycling, and horse tracks are planned, along with eight public parks and a three-kilometer escarpment walkway overlooking Wadi Hanifah.

Parking across Diriyah is being pushed underground and linked to metro stations to keep streets largely pedestrian-focused. Overall, more than 18,000 residential units are planned, many in branded communities tied to Raffles, Ritz-Carlton and Baccarat.

Among Diriyah’s biggest challenges is Saudi Arabia’s blazing hot climate, where summer temperatures in Riyadh regularly exceed 45 C (113 F). Rather than enclosing spaces or turning the site into a mall-like artificial environment, planners are focusing on lowering how the temperature feels in walkways, plazas and other gathering areas. The cooling system relies on a mix of passive design and so-called district cooling technology that pumps chilled water through pipes inside a building’s walls. The approach includes extensive shading, dense landscaping and the use of materials that reflect rather than absorb heat.

“Sustainability is a big thing for us, and we have to do this very carefully,” Rajeh said. “If you try one thing, it impacts something else.”

Diriyah is rising alongside other large-scale developments reshaping Riyadh, including King Salman Park, a $23 billion urban park project, and New Murabba, a planned $50 billion downtown district anchored by the enormous cube-shaped Mukaab. 

Saudi real estate agents have high hopes for home sales in Diriyah, particularly as the kingdom implements a new law lifting restrictions on property ownership for foreigners. While Wadi Safar’s mansions may get snatched up early by the wealthiest locals and expats, more will be attracted by the smaller and mid-range apartments that will be built in Diriyah’s later stages, according to Ali Siddiqui, the research manager at consulting firm Cavendish Maxwell. The developers, meanwhile, are polishing their pitches at Davos and other locales abroad.

“Saudi Arabia is still in the process of building its investment case,” Siddiqui said. “Real estate is up and coming in the KSA.”

Editor’s Note: The Circuit attended a two-day media tour hosted by Diriyah Co.