Arada KSA launches with SAR50bn Saudi land bank

Arada, the Sharjah-based master developer, is setting up shop in Saudi Arabia through a new subsidiary, Arada KSA, it announced on Tuesday. The new entity starts operations with a land bank worth SAR50bn ($13.3bn).

Saudi community and lifestyle developer XTOPIA is Arada’s partner in the venture. XTOPIA chairman Mohammed AlDhabaan will chair Arada KSA, which has earmarked as its first project a SAR14bn (about $3.7bn) residential master plan in Riyadh.

Behind Arada KSA sits approximately 10 million square metres of land across the Kingdom in Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah, the company said in a statement. Arada said the holdings give its Saudi venture “genuine national scale and reach” from day one. Details of the Jeddah and Makkah sites were not disclosed.

Riyadh master plan of 3,500 homes

The first project will be built on a land parcel of approximately 2.5 million square metres in Al Rimal District in north-eastern Riyadh, Arada said. The company described it as one of the largest private real estate developments to be announced in Riyadh in recent years.

An estimated 3,500 villas and townhouses will be built there together with a school, retail facilities, a community centre and sports amenities. The developer said it would also plant 100,000 trees in the community, in step with the Green Riyadh initiative led by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, which plans to see 7.5 million trees planted in the capital by 2030.

Both construction and sales will commence on site in 2027. The project will be capitalised via an investment scheme regulated by the Kingdom’s Capital Market Authority and managed by a licensed financial company, said Arada.

The master plan is being developed in consultation with the relevant government entities to ensure it supports the Kingdom’s housing vision and national development priorities, including the Quality of Life Programme under Vision 2030, the company added.

Arada KSA builds on a $50bn pipeline

Arada was established in 2017 by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi and Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal. The developer built up its brand in Sharjah with the large master communities Aljada and Masaar before expanding into Dubai with branded developments such as Armani Beach Residences on Palm Jumeirah and W Residences at Dubai Harbour. Its Group Chief Executive Officer is Ahmed Alkhoshaibi.

Arada now has SAR189bn ($50bn) of projects in its pipeline across five markets and a portfolio exceeding 70,000 homes in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Australia and Syria. To date, it has completed 17,000 homes, according to the statement.

The developer has been making a series of announcements in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Aldar Properties agreed an AED1.1bn ($300m) purchase at Arada’s Aljada community in Sharjah, and Arada has also announced plans for a $7bn mixed-use development in New Damascus with the Syrian Sovereign Fund.

Why it matters for Saudi real estate

Housing is a core pillar of Vision 2030, which set a target of raising home ownership among Saudi citizens to 70% before the end of the decade. Population growth in Riyadh and a wave of giga-projects have seen Gulf companies flock to the Kingdom, with Arada now one of the biggest UAE players to enter at scale.

AlDhabaan said the Saudi residential market “has never offered more compelling long-term fundamentals”. He added that combining Arada’s track record of building communities at scale with XTOPIA’s local market insight positions the venture to capture long-term potential.

Investors may take note that Arada will use a CMA-regulated funding vehicle. This suggests the project will be financed using Saudi capital markets and local fund managers rather than Arada’s own balance sheet alone. Follow our News section for more on regional property transactions.

Arada KSA did not reveal the Riyadh project’s name, the financial company that will be responsible for managing the investment structure, or an update on its Jeddah and Makkah plots. With sales and construction set to begin in 2027, first handovers appear a few years off.