New Murabba is the newest megaproject from Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. The development aims to make Riyadh one of the top 10 most liveable cities in the world, and features Mukaab, ‘the world’s first immersive destination offering an experience created by digital and virtual technology with the latest holographics’.
The crown jewel of the project is Mukaab, an immersive destination skyscraper. Quite literally Arabic for ‘Cube’, the 400x400m structure will house retail, entertainment, residential, hospitality and dining spaces. The interior will heavily utilise holographic projections that transport viewers to another reality.
New Murabba is set to cover 19 square kilometres, accommodate 104,000 residential units, and host 9,000 hotel rooms, not to mention the copious amounts of retail, office and leisure space. The project was announced in February 2023, and the downtown area is scheduled to be completed by 2030.
New Murabba is the latest project intended to move the Saudi Arabian economy away from a dependence on oil. In fact, the crown prince currently has at least five ongoing ‘gigaprojects’ with the purpose of diversifying the economy. The project is expected to contribute $48 billion to non-oil GDP and create 334,000 jobs directly and indirectly.
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