Saudi Arabia ready to host World Expo 2030, site preparation costs SAR 30 bln: Al Rasheed

Saudi Arabia is ready to host World Expo 2030 and has presented a ‘strong’ case where all technical conditions to host the world event have been met, Fahd Al-Rasheed, CEO of Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), told Argaam in an exclusive.

The cost to prepare the proposed World Expo 2030 site is approximately SAR 30 billion ($8 billion), Al-Rasheed said. It spans an area of six million square meters in the north of Riyadh, 5-10 minutes away by car from King Khalid International Airport and is located near to King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), Al-Rasheed said.

Al-Rasheed expected more than 40 million visits to the site, in addition to another one billion via the Metaverse tech, which is unprecedented in this World Expo edition.

The Kingdom garnered unprecedented international support to host the Riyadh Expo 2030, backed by the direct follow-up of the Kingdom’s leadership, the joint action between all government authorities, and support of the Saudi society, Al-Rasheed added.

Saudi Arabia submitted an official bid to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). Three other candidates compete to organize the Expo including Ukraine, Republic of Korea, and Italy, according to BIE, Argaam earlier reported.

The host of World Expo 2030 will be elected via a secret ballot in November 2023.

By the end of November, during the 171st General Assembly of the BIE, the 170 member countries will vote to elect the winning country.