Saudi's Diriyah gigaproject eyes role rebuilding Syria's historic sites

Diriyah, a Saudi gigaproject focused on developing a Riyadh historic site as a real estate and tourism destination, held discussions with Syrian officials this week about contributing to the reconstruction of historic sites in Syria, the project’s CEO told Reuters on Wednesday.

“Someone is going to rebuild Damascus and Aleppo at some particular point, someone's going to rebuild Beirut at some particular point,” Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of Diriyah Gate Company, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit in Riyadh.

“We can't do anything right now because we're busy, but I think at some particular point we would,” he said, adding that he discussed the matter with Syrian cabinet members visiting Riyadh this week.

Diriyah Gate could expand as a global developer of cultural heritage sites and could also develop six additional cultural heritage sites in Saudi Arabia, Inzerillo said.

The company is profitable and plans to pursue an initial public offering on the Saudi exchange after 2030, Inzerillo said, adding that it expects to receive "billions of U.S. dollars" of foreign, private investment.

The company's main project in Riyadh is on time and on budget and will be mostly finished by 2030, he said.

Reuters