The Red Sea Project

The Red Sea Project (مشروع البحر الأحمر), simply referred to as The Red Sea (البحر الأحمر), is a planned tourism megaproject in the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. The project, which is developed by Public Investment Fund-owned Red Sea Global, forms part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program. The project was announced by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in July 2017.

On completion in 2030, The Red Sea aims to have 50 hotels with 8,000 rooms, and more than 1,000 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites.

Location
The project is located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia in a 28,000 km2 area in Tabuk province between the cities of Umluj and Al-Wajh. The area includes more than 90 unspoiled offshore islands, 200km of coastline on the Red Sea, beaches, desert, mountains and volcanoes. This also incorporates the Al Wajh lagoon, a pristine 2,081 km2 area that includes valuable habitats (coral reefs, seagrass, and mangroves) and species of global conservation importance.

History
The project was announced by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in July 2017 as part one of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 projects to diversify the Saudi economy away from fossil fuels. The project is developed by Red Sea Global, one of the various companies founded by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Construction began at The Red Sea in February 2019 and was expected to be completed by 2030. The first three hotels were expected to open in 2023, while 16 hotels, the Red Sea International Airport, a yachting marina, historical sites and recreation centers were expected to open in 2024.

In November 2023, The Red Sea Project's first destination, Six Senses Southern Dunes, was opened for guests.

In January 2024, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts opened The Red Sea Project's second destination, and its first island resort, in the Ummahat Islands archipelago. The following May, the Ummahat Islands welcomed its second hotel, Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.

Destinations
The Red Sea Project consists of 5 tourist destinations as of 2024. Two of the destinations, Southern Dunes and Desert Rock, are located inland. The other three destinations are located on 3 of the 92-island archipelago.

Shura Island
Shura Island, also known as Shurayrah Island, is the hub island of The Red Sea Project. The island is home to Coral Bloom, the project's most ambitious construction project. Coral Bloom was launched in February 2021 by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. The project is designed by London-based architecture firm Foster + Partners.

The island will host 11 hotels from various brands, including Hyatt, Fairmont, InterContinental, Rosewood, Jumeirah, Faena, Raffles, Miraval, Edition, and SLS. In addition, it will include Shura Links, Saudi Arabia's first 18-hole golf course and clubhouse. The 7,500 yard course was designed by Brian Curley, with the clubhouse designed by Foster + Partners and is expected to open in 2025.

Shura is linked to the mainland by Saudi Arabia's longest water bridge, which stretches a total of 1.2 km. The bridge was designed and constructed by Athens-based construction firm Archirodon.

In October 2023, Red Sea Global signed a $533 million deal with Kingdom Holding Company to open a Four Seasons resort on the island. The hotel is expected to open in early 2025.

Ummahat Islands
The Ummahat Islands archipelago, also known as Ummhat Alshaikh Islands, hosts both St. Regis Red Sea Resort and Nujuma, a Ritz Carlton Reserve. Both are accessible via a seaplane or a chartered boat.

The St. Regis Red Sea Resort was the first island destination to start welcoming guest in the Red Sea Project in January 2024. The 90-key resort was designed by Kengo Kuma.

The 63-key Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, opened in May 2024 as the most expensive hotel in the Middle East, costing around $3,431 a night. It is the seventh Ritz-Carlton property within the Reserve sub-brand and the first to be located in the Middle East. The Reserve has 63 luxury villas, each with a sea view private pool. Nujuma was designed by Foster + Partners.

Sheybarah Island
The island is home to Shebara Resort, a 73-room luxury hotel that will be managed a hotel brand created by Red Sea Global named "Shebara". The resort consists of overwater reflective stainless steel villas made in the shape of orbs, designed by Dubai-based architecture firm Killa Design. The resort is set to open in 2024.

The 150-ton villas were created by Grankraft in Sharjah, then transported to the island and installed by Mammoet.

Southern Dunes
Six Senses Southern Dunes is an inland resort located in Alnesai desert, almost a 100 km northeast of the town of Umluj. The resort includes 40 villas and a 36-room hotel complex. Southern Dunes was the first Red Sea Project destination to start welcoming visitors in November 2023.

Southern Dunes was designed by Foster + Partners.

Desert Rock
Desert Rock is a 60-key inland luxury resort of villas and hotel rooms built into granite mountains.

Desert Rock was designed by Miami-based Oppenheim Architecture.

Transportation
The Red Sea Project can be accessed via the Red Sea International Airport, a dedicated airport set to be fully completed in 2025. The airport received its first flight in September 2023 by Saudia from King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh. The first international flight to the airport was by flydubai from Dubai International Airport in April 2024. The airport, whose curved design is inspired by sand dunes, was designed by Foster + Partners.

Upon arrival to the airport, Lucid Air electric vehicles are used to transport visitors to their destinations. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, owns over 60% stake at Lucid Motors. The Red Sea Project includes Saudi Arabia's largest off-grid charging network, which has 150 charging stations to serve its initial fleet of 80 Lucid Air and Mercedes-Benz EQS EVs.

Some island sites, such as Ummahat islands, are only accessible via yachts and seaplanes. Red Sea Global established Saudi Arabia's first seaplane company, Fly Red Sea, that will transport visitors to the islands using an initial fleet of 4 Cessna Caravan 208 seaplanes.

Promotion
In March 2024, famous football player Cristiano Ronaldo, which at the time was a player for the Saudi team Al Nassr, visited St. Regis Red Sea Resort in the Red Sea destination. Ronaldo promoted the destination on his Instagram account, which at the time had more the 600 million followers. The following June, he visited Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, shortly after it started welcoming visitors.

In April 2024, Red Sea Global announced a collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery to produce a documentary titled "Beneath the Surface: The Fight for Corals".