Construction on Marafy, a residential canal-waterfront project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is progressing rapidly. Spearheaded by Roshn Group, the property development arm of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the project is designed to accommodate over 130,000 residents.
Although the total cost of the Marafy project has not been disclosed, Roshn secured a $2.4 billion credit facility from a consortium of Saudi banks in October to fund its ongoing initiatives across the country.
Located in the northern part of Jeddah, Marafy will feature a 10.2km-long, 100-meter-wide canal, extending inland from the Red Sea. This canal will pass through one of the city’s most rapidly developing districts, extending the natural Obhur Creek. The project bears similarities to Dubai’s canal, which stretches 3.2km, linking the inland creek to the Gulf waters, with numerous apartment blocks constructed along its shores.
“I don’t think there are too many people with canals like this; we are actively digging a very big hole as we speak,” said Roger Fatovic, group chief projects delivery officer at Roshn, in a recent webinar.
Roshn is one of the leading companies in Saudi Arabia’s state-supported efforts to develop housing, focusing on increasing homeownership among the country’s 20 million citizens. This initiative aligns with the government’s Vision 2030, which aims to raise national homeownership to 70 percent by 2030, up from 64 percent in 2023.
However, the project and other infrastructure ventures come at a high cost, with the state investing up to $1 trillion in various initiatives. This has led to concerns over government spending and borrowing, particularly as the price of oil – which accounts for 60 percent of the nation’s revenue – declines.
PIF, managing nearly $1 trillion in assets, has implemented budget cuts across more than 100 of its portfolio companies this year, resulting in layoffs, hiring freezes, and project delays, as reported by AGBI last month.
Marafy will be developed over seven phases, with the first phase focusing on the excavation of 3km of the canal and the construction of three pedestrian bridges. The entire project will include 52,000 residential units, nine major public bridges, and extensive retail, hospitality, and leisure facilities.
Spanning almost seven million square meters, Marafy is just one of 13 projects Roshn is working on across Saudi Arabia, with plans to deliver 30,000 units as part of its long-term goal to build 400,000 homes nationwide.
By the end of 2028, Saudi Arabia is expected to become the world’s largest construction market, with a projected output value of $181.5 billion, according to a 2024 report by global property consultancy Knight Frank.
In addition to the $2.4 billion credit facility, Roshn is in talks with international lenders to borrow nearly $670 million to further finance its operations.
Roshn Construction in Numbers:
- Enough cables to circumnavigate the globe 32 times
- Enough steel to build the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco 102 times
- Enough paint to cover the Great Wall of China (25,000km long) four times
- Enough pipes to reach the top of Riyadh’s Kingdom Tower 3,000 times
- Enough tiles to cover Jawhara Stadium in Jeddah over 1,000 times
- Enough windows to glaze Dubai’s Burj Khalifa 86 times
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