Home Business Smart City New Murabba project transforms...

New Murabba project transforms Riyadh with Korea partnership, smart city focus

Smart City

Business Honor - New Murabba Project Transforms Riyadh with Korea Partnership

Business Honor
01 July, 2025

New Murabba smart city in Riyadh partners with Korea, targeting completion by 2030

Riyadh is being changed by the massive urban development project known as New Murabba which is part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and intends to change the Middle East as a whole. Speaking at the New Murabba Investment and Partnership Forum in Seoul, Michael Dyke, CEO of New Murabba Development Company which is a division of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund offered his thoughts on the project. By utilizing the latest technology and close cultural ties to Saudi Arabia, South Korea is becoming an important partner in the New Murabba project. Dyke highlighted the historical connections between Saudi Arabia and Korea, noting that Korean construction companies were instrumental in the building of Saudi infrastructure during the 1970s and 1980s economic boom.

Dyke stated that the development of New Murabba will be greatly dependent on the established ties and partnerships between Saudi and Korean businesses. The 19-square-kilometer New Murabba in Riyadh is intended to be a huge smart city. At its core will be the 400-meter-tall cuboid skyscraper known as the Mukaab which will house hotels, retail stores, homes, cultural venues and recreational amenities. By volume, the completed Mukaab will be the largest structure in the world enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings. The goal is to complete the construction by 2030.

The project which is intended to incorporate smart city elements and seamless transit connectivity is further motivated by Saudi Arabia's impending Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup in 2034. Dyke expressed confidence that New Murabba's innovative stadiums and infrastructure will be prepared to receive millions of tourists. Dyke maintained his optimism by saying that business is going on as usual and that the Middle East is mostly back to normal despite geopolitical problems. Naver Cloud became its first Korean partner at the forum when it inked a memorandum of agreement with New Murabba.