Six Flags looks to open first Saudi theme park by 2021

US-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world’s largest theme park operator, is expected to open its first parks in Saudi Arabia by 2020 or 2021, its chairman said Tuesday.

The parks, with investments of $300-500 million (SAR 1.1-1.8 billion), will be set up in Riyadh, Jeddah and Tabuk, James Reid-Anderson said at an event in Riyadh.

The Saudi government will study the three locations to choose the first best option, he added.

The new park will be state-owned, and the US company is only entitled to execute the project’s construction works.

In June, Dubai Parks and Resorts said it would waive its exclusivity rights for a Six Flags theme park in Saudi Arabia.

Reid-Anderson said a waiver would enable the Saudi parks to carry the Six Flags name, according to Reuters.

He said it was too early to say whether the parks would be gender segregated or whether there would be any restrictions placed on women’s access to the rides, which elsewhere include roller coasters and water slides, Reuters reported.

Last June, the Saudi cabinet approved rules governing full foreign ownership of retail and wholesale businesses.

Six Flags announced in June that it had begun talks with the Saudi government to build theme parks as part of the kingdom's efforts to expand its entertainment sector and diversify the economy.