Here's New Murabba ! The new project that will be Riyadh's new face and Saudi Arabia's Next future mega project for 2030 . It's will be a gateway to a new future world

Saudi Arabia has announced plans to build a colossal 1,300ft (400m) cube shopping centre in its capital.

Developers are planning to build the New Murabba project at the heart of a seven mile (19km) area in the northwest of Riyadh, welcoming hundreds of thousands of residents to facilities that include 80 entertainment and culture venues, 9,000 hotel rooms and 3.2million square feet (980,000 sqm) of retail space.

Its designers claim the world's largest downtown area will 'offer a unique living, working [and] entertainment experience within a 15-minute walking radius and will have its own internal transport system', with visitors stunned by the latest in immersive holographic technology.

This comes as Saudi Arabia looks to diversify its economy and add sustainable projects and cities to its roster, currently dependent on oil for 80 per cent of its export income.


The Mukaab landmark shopping centre at its core is planned to reinvent the region (above) with green areas and walking and cycle paths, 'promoting healthy, active lifestyles and community activities'.

At 1,300ft tall, its designers claim it could fit 20 Empire State Buildings (1,250ft to roof; 1,454ft to tip) inside.

Promotional videos show renderings of an immersive virtual reality, with dragons and huge holographic people moving through the development.

Surrounded by a cube structure, the inner spiral can display realistic images around the building.

Renderings show spacecraft flying overhead, huge mountain ranges and towering waterfalls all projected on to the sleepy desert scene.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is also Prime Minister and Chairman of the NMDC (New Murabba Development Company), which is overseeing the development, announced the project on Thursday.

It is estimated it would add SAR180 billion (£39.9billion) to non-oil GDP.

Saudi Arabia, with one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, is planning a number of so-called megaprojects intended to reinvent its economy.

The planned smart city of Neom in northwest Saudi Arabia was announced by the Crown Prince in October 2017, also as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 to reduce oil dependence, diversify the economy and build up public service sectors.

The ambitious project would be powered exclusively by wind and solar power and is estimated to cost $500billion.

Critics have noted that only two buildings had been built by July 2022, ahead of the first phase completion date penned for 2025.

In January 2021, plans were unveiled for a 110-mile (170km) long, 660ft (200 metre) wide, linear city - 'The Line' - running through the region.

All basic services are expected to be within a five-minute walking distance for nine million residents.

The project has drawn criticism for its data-collection surveillance technology and for sentencing to death people who were forcibly evicted and displaced to make way for the project.

Amnesty International noted that the Saudi Vision 2030 was enabled by a large-scale demolition and eviction plan which impacted half a million people in Jeddah alone, violation of international human rights standards and discriminating against foreign nationals.

Saudi Arabia is also investing in Amaala, an upcoming sustainable megaproject of 2,500 hotel rooms and 200 retail shops, aiming to attract tourists to the Red Sea coast.

A number of cultural sites will also receive investment as the country looks to attract international tourists as part of its diversification move.

The Saudi Vision 2030 includes attracting 27 million domestic and foreign tourists.