By Yousef Saba
ABU DHABI (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's AlUla cultural heritage site plans to offer projects worth 6 billion riyals ($1.6 billion) for private sector participation, a tourism chief said on Wednesday.
AlUla, which attracted 300,000 visitors last year, is mainly funded by the Saudi finance ministry and now hopes to draw in private funds, Phillip Jones, chief tourism officer of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi.
About 1 million visitors are expected by 2030, Jones said of AlUla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of which about 60% is designated a national park and cannot be developed.
"We're embarking upon a big initiative to secure private sector investment, and we have about 6 billion SAR worth of investment opportunities with about 21 projects that we'll be floating to the market sometime at the end of the year, early next year," Jones added.
Developing the historical site is part of Vision 2030, which was launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016 to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy and cut its reliance on oil.
While an initial public offering is "not yet" planned, it is under consideration, Jones said, adding that while premature to discuss, a listing could come by the end of the decade.
AlUla has not been impacted by a rationalization programme underway across the kingdom and has secured its budget for the next five years, he said.
"We just finished phase one, and we're entering into phase two now and then we have a phase three, so we'll have lots of opportunities for investment," he said, adding he expected phase two to be complete by 2030.
Jones said roughly 70% of AlUla's visitors are from the Gulf region, including Saudi visitors. The other 30% come from countries including the United States, Britain, India, several European countries and China.
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($1 = 3.7504 riyals)
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Alexander Smith)
