Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia's international tourism Red Sea Project is expected to provide 35,000 job opportunities for Saudi citizens, CEO John Pagano said on the sidelines of the third day of the Future Investment Initiative (FII).

“The Red Sea heralds a new era in luxury tourism [as it includes] 50 pristine islands [with an area of] 28,000 square kilometres of exquisite beauty,” Pagano said during the mega investment event held in Riyadh.

This touristic project is considered a part of the Kingdom’s efforts to raise the efficiency of its tourism sector and its role in boosting the economy.

“We are uncompromising in creating a destination that, beyond just preserving the natural and cultural environment, actually enhances it. Uncompromising in our desire to be a force for good,” the CEO further noted.

In August 2017, the oil-rich nation said that Red Sea project would be carried out by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) in collaboration with global hotel companies. Work on the project is set to begin during the third quarter of 2019.

Saudi Arabia also forecast that the project would increase its gross domestic product (GDP) by SAR 15 billion on an annual basis.

Organised by the PIF, the FII conference began in Riyadh on Tuesday and ends on Thursday, 25 October.

In the first day of the investment event dubbed “Davos in the Desert”, Aramco inked 15 memoranda of understanding worth a combined sum of $34 billion, including a deal with French oil major Total to build a joint venture (JV) for manufacturing industries.