A new glimpse of The Rig, the world’s first floating theme park off the coast of Saudi Arabia, has revealed more about its true scale.
Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as one of the world’s leading tourist hotspots – and The Rig is the next step in that journey.
Sitting 25 miles off the coast, near Al Juraid Island and the Berri oilfield, it’s located atop a decommissioned oil rig.
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An adrenaline junkie’s dream destination, its website denies that this is a theme park at all.
“It’s an extreme destination, an entirely new playground for adventure tourism. The true scale of adventure,” states the website.
The Rig will feature a water park, a Ferris wheel, an awe-inspiring suspended restaurant, and one of the biggest rollercoasters in the world.
Alongside this will sit a sizable adventure and extreme sports park, theater, multifunctional arena, diving facility, e-sports center, and a range of aquatic activities.
But it’s the sheer scale of the $5 billion (plus) project – first announced in 2021 – that will take your breath away.
Covering a mammoth 1.6 million square feet of space, it will feature three hotels with 800 rooms, 11 restaurants, and 70 different activities over 74 acres (the size of about 42 Olympic-sized swimming pools).
It will host an estimated 10,000 guests per day by 2032 via a marina with room for 50 boats including ferries and cruise ships, and one helipad.
From jet skiing and go-karting to bungee jumping, skydiving, and zip-lining – and even submarine rides, there’s something for everyone.
The quirky tourism hotspot is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to ‘celebrate the legacy and heritage of Saudi Arabia’s long oil and gas history’.
Form and function are balanced with aesthetics that reflect that theme.
Development is already well underway under Saudi Arabia’s Oil Park Development Company (OPDC) and its CEO, Raed N. Bakhrji.
“The Rig draws its inspiration from Vision 2030 and its initiatives to develop the tourism sector, and it is expected to be one of the leading adventure tourism destinations aiming to attract more than 900,000 visitors annually by 2032,” he said.
This project is part of Saudi Arabia’s bid to both increase tourism and reduce reliance on the oil industry.
A skyscraper as tall as the Eiffel Tower that overlooks an artificial lake is currently in the works too.
Then there’s The Line, the $1 trillion project that’s essentially a horizontal 105-mile-long skyscraper.
A supercity, named the Qiddiya project, is hoped to become the world’s largest tourist destination.
It will feature 43 sports facilities, an F1 track, and 12 theme parks.
