Arada Opens Saudi Arm With $13.3bn Land Bank, $3.8bn Riyadh Scheme
The Dubai developer has formed Arada KSA with local partner XTOPIA and will begin building its first Riyadh community in 2027.
Karim El-Sayed Karim El-Sayed covers company news, policy and regulation across the UAE and wider MENA for Anecdoted, with a focus on how new rules and licences reshape how startups operate. karim@anecdoted.com
Arada has created a Saudi subsidiary with access to a 10 million square metre land bank spanning three cities, a first move into the kingdom for the Dubai-based developer. The land is valued at AED49 billion, or US$13.3 billion, and sits in Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah.
The vehicle, Arada KSA, is a partnership with XTOPIA, a Saudi developer of lifestyle and community projects. Mohammed AlDhabaan, XTOPIA's chairman, has been named chairman of Arada KSA.
First scheme in Al Rimal
Arada KSA's opening project is a residential development in Riyadh's Al Rimal District worth AED14 billion, or US$3.8 billion. It will cover 2.5 million square metres and hold roughly 3,500 villas and townhouses. The plan includes 100,000 trees, a school, retail outlets, a community centre and sports facilities.
Construction and sales are both scheduled to start in 2027. Financing will come through an investment structure regulated by the Capital Market Authority.
The land bank is worth more than three times the first project, which means the Riyadh launch accounts for only part of what the two partners control. Jeddah and Makkah have no announced scheme yet.
Five markets and a US$50 billion pipeline
Saudi Arabia becomes Arada's fifth market alongside the UAE, the UK, Australia and Syria. The company values its global pipeline at US$50 billion. That pipeline covers more than 70,000 homes, of which 17,000 are complete.
The Saudi entry puts Arada in direct competition with the kingdom's own large developers, several of which are building at a similar scale on land granted or assembled through state-linked channels. Arada KSA instead enters with a land position it values itself and a local partner holding the chairmanship.
Villas and townhouses make up the bulk of the Al Rimal plan, a format that carries longer build times and higher per-unit prices than mid-rise apartments. The 2027 start date leaves roughly two years before any revenue reaches the partnership from the site.
AlDhabaan's dual role — chairing both the Saudi partner and the joint venture — places decision-making on the ground in Riyadh rather than with the Dubai parent, a structure common among Gulf developers pairing local land access with outside capital and operating experience.
