Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) is the authority responsible for developing and preserving the historical Diriyah site, located northwest of Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its duties encompass serving the local community and fostering the position of Diriyah to become an international tourist destination and one of the world's venues for events and activities. The authority was established in 2017 for the development of Diriyah; the jewel of Saudi Arabia, an important historical site, and the capital of the First Saudi State.
Diriyah Gate project components
In 2019, the authority inaugurated the Diriyah Gate project to become a heritage and culture-based global tourist destination. The project encompasses around thirty-eight global hotels, twenty cultural landmarks, one hundred restaurants, and 3,100 hotel rooms, in addition to five outdoor yards and four sports and entertainment courts. The Diriyah Gate project is the largest heritage and cultural project globally for the rehabilitation and development of Historical Diriyah, also known as the Jewel of Saudi Arabia, at a value of SAR64 billion.
The first phase of the project, overseen by the authority, relates to developing
The Diriyah Gate project aims to attract twenty-five million visitors and tourists annually from Saudi Arabia and abroad through its various planned entertainment projects and events as well as attracting international artistic and cultural events. Diriyah Gate Development Authority oversees the development of a site spanning 190 km.
The importance of Diriyah lies in its establishment on the banks of Wadi Hanifah in 1446, before becoming the capital of the First Saudi State in 1727, a turning point in the history of the Arabian Peninsula in particular and Arab and Islamic history in general.
Objectives of DGDA
Diriyah Gate Development Authority seeks to ensure the urban, economic, social, and cultural development of Diriyah Gate, in addition to meeting its needs in terms of public facilities and services, ensuring its evolution and development, and furthering its status in the future.
Mandate of DGDA
The mandate of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority includes enlisting study and planning centers for devising plans to develop Diriyah Gate, following up on planning all matters related to the required infrastructure in this respect, establishing companies or holding shares therein, and establishing investment and endowment funds, ultimately ensuring that the authority can assume its duties and achieve its objectives.
On December 31, 2024, the Council of Ministers approved vesting upon the authority the power of sanctioning municipal violations related to its legally decided-upon mandate. The authority would be competent in this respect within the scope of the development of Diriyah Gate. It would also be entitled to impose the legally prescribed penalties under the Schedule of Regulations of Municipal Violations Penalties.
Organizational arrangements of DGDA
Diriyah Gate Development Authority has a public legal personality. It enjoys administrative autonomy in assuming its duties and has an annual independent budget. It is organizationally affiliated with the Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA). It has a board of directors, which is competent in managing its affairs. Its board is chaired by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz.
The authority operates from its headquarters, a few kilometers away from the heritage neighborhoods of Historical Diriyah, located on Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz Street, in Al-Shuhada' Neighborhood.
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