The Saudi British Bank (SABB) has signed a financing agreement with Nesma & Partners Contracting Company Ltd. for the construction of The Avenues-Riyadh mall owned by Shumoul Holding, one of the region’s major tourism and entertainment projects.
The agreement was signed at Nesma’s head office in Al-Khobar by Mr. Yasser Al-Furaih, general manager of large corporates at SABB and Samer Abdul Samad, CEO of Nesma & Partners, in the presence of Majid Najm, deputy managing director of corporate and institutional banking at SABB, and Rami Al-Truki, vice president at Nesma & Partners, along with a number of senior officials from both parties.
Under the terms of the agreement, SABB will provide Nesma & Partners for three and a half years to support the cash flow for the construction of the Avenues-Riyadh mall, which will be located at the intersection of King Fahd Road and King Salman Road in Riyadh.
The project’s overall size is 390,000m2 at a cost of $1.7bn (SAR6.4bn), and it will include more than 1,300 businesses and stores.
“This agreement aligns with the bank’s strategy of supporting the kingdom’s development and achieving Vision 2030 goals,” stated Najm, adding that The Avenues-Riyadh project is one of the most promising in the commercial, tourist, and entertainment sectors.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Nesma & Partners in providing the necessary financing solution to build this outstanding project. “
“By signing this agreement today, Nesma & Partners demonstrates the significance of its strategic partnership with SABB, which is the outcome of the two parties’ combined effort to bring the vision to reality,” Albdul Samad added. With this collaboration, one of Riyadh’s landmarks will be built, which will be truly transformative not just at the kingdom level, but also at the regional level, with all of its distinctive components aligned with Vision 2030.
“We are always committed to establishing excellence,” Al-Turki said, “as this deal with SABB is a collaboration that enables business and boosts the company’s cash flow to construct a project that will be one of the most significant investments and commercial brands in the Middle East.”
The Avenues Project will include hotel towers and a commercial complex, and Nesma & Partners will employ cutting-edge construction technology to create a tourist and commercial icon in Riyadh, designed with an engineering dimension for a unique project that contributes to the expansion of commercial services in the Riyadh region.”
The Avenues-Riyadh project value and scope
In September 2019, Nesma won a $1.6bn (SAR6.2bn) construction contract for Phase 1 of the kingdom’s the $3.5bn (SAR13bn) The Avenue – Riyadh from Shomoul Holding Company — part of Kuwait Bourse-listed real estate firm, Mabanee.
In a stock market filing, Mabanee revealed that the contract was awarded by Shomoul Commercial Mall Co.
A letter of intent (LoT) was signed between the two companies, as part of which $18.1mn (SAR68mn) was paid to Nesma & Partners as “a prelude to signing the final contract to commence the construction work of the project”.
The company said scope of work for phase 1 of The Avenues – Riyadh comprises the mall, parking area, gardens, and internals roads.
Set to become the largest leisure and commercial destination in the kingdom, The Avenues – Riyadh once developed will include space for 1,300 stores, in addition to five multi-purpose towers consisting of hotels, exhibition, conference halls, residential apartments, offices, and medical facilities.
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