RED SEA GLOBAL
It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia , and is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud .
RSG is responsible for developing two giant projects – so-called ‘ giga projects ’: The Red Sea destination and the Amaala destination .
The Red Sea is a brand-new luxury regenerative tourism destination along the west coast of Saudi Arabia . It opened to guests last year , and by 2030 will be home to 50 hotels , 8,000 rooms , up to 1,000 residential properties and its own international airport .
Amaala is a luxury tourism destination being developed along the Red Sea coast in northwestern Saudi Arabia , about 150 miles back down the coast . It is being developed as one of the world ’ s premier luxury wellness and sports retreats .
“ These two projects are probably the world ’ s most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations ,” says Ben Edwards , Group Head of Cost , Commercial & Procurement for RSG .
Edwards adds that the company is “ putting people and planet first in what we do ”, with a view of “ enhancing the well- being not only of our guests but also of the communities and the environments within which we ’ re working ”.
How Red Sea Global is organised In his role , Edwards oversees three departments . The Cost department deals with the estimating and budgeting for all of RSG ’ s developments . Procurement deals with the procurement of goods and services , while Commercial handles the commercial management of the countless purchase orders and contracts after they ’ ve been placed .
Its entire team currently numbers 605 people , but it is growing by the day .
The biggest challenge of his role , says Edwards , is the sheer scale of the projects , and the supply chain capacity in the Saudi market .
“ Market capacity within the Kingdom is the biggest single risk we face as an
“ We ’ re already seeing our roadshow events converting into real awards to the supply chain ”
BEN EDWARDS GROUP HEAD OF COST , COMMERCIAL & PROCUREMENT RED SEA GLOBAL
44 February 2024