KSA's New Murabba signs MoU with tech giant NAVER Cloud Corp at Investment and Partnership Forum in Seoul
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: New Murabba, a Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Korean tech giant, NAVER Cloud Corporation, for its 14 sq km mixed-use urban destination development currently under construction in Riyadh, KSA.
The agreement was signed by New Murabba CEO Michael Dyke, during the company's Investment and Partnership Forum, taking place this week in Seoul, South Korea.
The three-year agreement covers exploring innovative technology and automation to support the delivery of New Murabba, including robotics, autonomous vehicles, a smart city platform, and digital solutions for monitoring construction progress.
Speaking in Seoul, New Murabba CEO Michael Dyke, said: 'New Murabba is playing a key role in turning KSA's Vision 2030 into a reality by helping to shape the future of Riyadh's real estate landscape. We are transforming Riyadh into a global hub for innovation and investment while setting new benchmarks for urban design and living. Our partnership with NAVER Cloud Corp reinforces our commitment to collaborating with international investors and businesses who share our vision for New Murabba – and want to be part of Saudi Arabia's transformational future.'
Kim Yu-won, CEO of NAVER Cloud Corp, said: 'It is highly meaningful that our diverse innovative technologies will be introduced and actively applied in New Murabba, which is set to become the benchmark and core infrastructure of a new future city. As a technology partner contributing to Saudi Arabia's future innovation, we will strive to create practical and innovative results.'
New Murabba's senior leadership team is in Seoul to build strategic relationships, explore technological offerings, assess financing options, and showcase many investment opportunities in transformational development, a key element of Vision 2030.
The two-day, invitation-only forum includes deep-dive presentations on Vision 2030, New Murabba's master plan, investment and partnership opportunities, and discussions around tech and innovation. It is complemented by an exhibition including scale models and virtual reality features that showcase the development.
More than 500 delegates are attending the event, including investors, developers, government officials, suppliers, construction firms, service providers, technology companies, and smart city solution providers.
New Murabba also has partnerships with foreign entities such as AtkinsRealis, China Harbour Engineering Company, US-based Bechtel, STC Group in the Middle East, and key organizations in KSA, including the Tourism Development Fund and King Khalid Foundation.
Set to create more than 300,000 new jobs, New Murabba integrates sustainable design, innovative infrastructure, and a future-ready lifestyle. At the heart of the project is the iconic, technological and cultural wonder, The Mukaab, a premium mixed-use destination with retail, cultural, tourism, hospitality, residential, commercial and recreational components.
More than 14 million cubic meters of excavation, equivalent to the size of 5,400 Olympic swimming pools, have been completed for The Mukaab.
Once complete New Murabba will have more than 100,000 residential units, over 10,000 hotel room keys, schools, hospitals, and healthcare facilities. It will also have a host of sports and entertainment venues, including the iconic New Murabba stadium, which will accommodate 45,000 spectators, including football fans heading to Saudi Arabia for the FIFA 2034 World Cup.
Michael Dyke added: 'Riyadh is evolving into a world-class metropolis. New Murabba is at the forefront of this transformation, and key to the success of upcoming global events in KSA, including Riyadh Expo 2030 and the FIFA 2034 World Cup. We look forward to building new, meaningful partnerships here in Seoul today, and in the future.'
Media contact: Rebecca Rees on rebecca@rebecomms.com
About New Murabba
New Murabba, a PIF company, aims to develop a new modern downtown in Riyadh. The destination features the 'Mukaab', an exceptional and iconic landmark that incorporates the latest innovative technologies, contributing to the city's future development in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economy ME
2 hours ago
- Economy ME
Grade A warehouse demand grows as Saudi Arabia transforms into global logistics hub
Saudi Arabia's logistics and warehousing sector is rapidly expanding, fuelled by the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) under Vision 2030, a booming e-commerce market and increasing demand for Grade A warehousing. A new report by JLL highlights the key factors driving this growth, along with the challenges and opportunities in powering the Kingdom's ambition to become a global logistics hub. The whitepaper also highlights significant interest and investment from both domestic and international institutional players, recognizing the industrial and logistics sectors as key pillars of Saudi Arabia's economic diversification strategy. Vision 2030 spurs logistics growth The ambitious growth is catalysed by Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to position the Kingdom among the top 10 countries in the Logistics Performance Index, and the NDLP agenda, which aims to boost the sector's GDP contribution and localize 70 percent of the supply chain. Saudi Arabia is laying the foundation for a robust and efficient logistics ecosystem through substantial investments in transportation infrastructure, streamlined processes and regulatory frameworks, says the whitepaper. 'Saudi Arabia's position as a global logistics hub offers unparalleled access to a growing consumer market spanning three continents, making logistics and warehousing vital for high-growth sectors. Guided by Vision 2030, the Kingdom is strengthening its logistics infrastructure and transportation network, prioritizing sustainability, and building strong local partnerships for seamless global commerce,' said Abhishek Mittal, head of industrial advisory, MENA at JLL. Mittal adds that this agile and resilient network facilitates efficient movement of resources, offering investors significant opportunities to capitalize on reduced costs, efficient supply chains and increased access to a vibrant and growing market. Global institutional investors create shift towards Grade A facilities Among the key drivers fuelling demand for Industrial and Logistics in Saudi Arabia are the establishment of strategically located Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial cities. While 36 industrial cities offer ready-built factories, warehouses and logistics facilities, attractive incentives and tax breaks at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), and Jazan Economic City (JEC), are creating clusters of economic activity and driving investment and innovation. This dynamic environment attracts significant capital from global institutional investors, who are moving away from traditional Grade B/C warehouses, which currently comprise about 90 percent of the market. JLL's whitepaper also reveals a noticeable shift towards sophisticated Grade A facilities as global institutional investors across industries, including DP World, Gulf Islamic Investments, Arcapita Capital Company and AP. Moller–Maersk demands built-to-suit warehouses, cold storage facilities and last-mile delivery hubs, demonstrating confidence in the Saudi market. E-commerce surge drives growth in industrial real estate market The logistics and industrial real estate market is benefiting from Saudi Arabia's position as the largest e-commerce market in the GCC, supported by high internet penetration (97 percent), a young and tech-savvy population and a growing consumer preference for online shopping. Modern commerce and e-commerce are expected to contribute around 80 percent to the retail sector by 2030, stimulating significant demand for modern warehouses, strategically located fulfilment centers and last-mile delivery hubs. Meanwhile, investment trends in e-commerce warehousing are also shifting with institutional investors and real estate developers focusing on built-to-suit logistics parks catering to e-commerce and retail tenants, and real estate investment trusts (REITs) allocating more capital toward logistics assets. Read: Dubai South launches 10-million-square-foot luxury community 'Hayat' with 2,500 residential units Food, pharmaceutical sectors leading demand for specialized logistics solutions The whitepaper also identifies the key industries of food and pharmaceuticals as leading the demand for specialised logistics solutions, including cold chain storage and temperature-controlled warehousing. Saudi Arabia has one of the largest pharma markets in the Middle East, and its healthcare infrastructure is expanding. The Kingdom also imports 80 percent of food, and consumers are increasingly shifting online for grocery and food delivery. These industries require highly regulated and technologically advanced supply chain solutions, unlocking a high-growth opportunity for industrial real estate developers and investors in the specialised logistics sector.
Zawya
3 hours ago
- Zawya
Saudi Arabia's net FDI inflows hike 44% in Q1-25
The net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Saudi Arabia jumped by 44% year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 22.20 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat). On a quarterly basis, the registered net FDI witnessed a 7% drop when compared to Q4-24. Meanwhile, GaStat reported that FDI outflows plunged by 54% YoY to SAR 1.80 billion in Q1-25. However, the amount rose by 7% when compared to the October-December 2024 period. The inflows into the Kingdom reached about SAR 24 billion in the first three months (3M) of 2025, an annual growth of 24% from SAR 19.40 billion. Quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), the Q1-25 inflows declined by 6% from Q4-24. Earlier in June, GaStat recorded a 3.40% YoY increase in Saudi Arabia's real gross domestic product (GDP) during Q1-25. All Rights Reserved - Mubasher Info © 2005 - 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Arabian Business
3 hours ago
- Arabian Business
Why e& believes Network as a Service (NaaS) is the foundation of Middle East digital transformation
Legacy networks are holding the Middle East back. NaaS could be the reset. Across the Middle East, government-led transformation agendas such as Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and the UAE's Digital Government Strategy are fuelling large-scale investments in smart infrastructure – from cloud-native public services to AI-enabled mobility and energy systems. These strategies aim to diversify economic activity, modernise national industries, and establish regional leadership in sectors such as AI, cybersecurity, and advanced connectivity. But while these plans gain global attention, the technological foundations behind them often lag. Beneath the surface of digital progress lies a critical weak point: outdated, inflexible network infrastructure that struggles to meet today's connectivity, security, and performance requirements. This hidden vulnerability risks undermining the speed and success of regional transformation. In its latest B2B white paper, The Value of Network as a Service (NaaS), e& UAE, the flagship telecom arm of global technology group e& explains why traditional network models are reaching their limits. Businesses relying on fixed, hardware-heavy networks are encountering scalability issues, security gaps, and operational inefficiencies. Meanwhile, organisations moving to as-a-service models are seeing faster rollouts, leaner operations, and more resilient architectures. NaaS – Network as a Service – is a new approach to enterprise connectivity. It replaces physical ownership with service-based delivery, allowing organisations to consume networking on demand. This means predictable costs, scalable capacity, integrated security, and less time spent on maintenance. For Middle Eastern businesses navigating regulatory change, hybrid work, and AI adoption, this model is not just helpful. It's critical. Why traditional networks fall short e& highlights the most pressing challenges that legacy networks pose: Performance lag: Older networks were designed for static workloads and on-premise environments. They lack the dynamic capacity and intelligent traffic routing needed for today's high-bandwidth workloads like 4K video conferencing, real-time collaboration tools, cloud analytics, and AI inference engines. The result is frequent latency spikes, service degradation, and unplanned downtime that impacts user productivity and customer experience. Cost overhead: Legacy infrastructure is not only outdated – it's expensive to maintain. IT departments spend disproportionate time and resources on managing obsolete switches, patching unsupported software, and manually troubleshooting disparate systems. Gartner reports that as much as 50% of enterprise IT budgets are tied up in this upkeep, diverting investment from strategic initiatives. Slow response times: When businesses need to open a new branch, scale operations, or onboard new applications, legacy systems become a roadblock. Provisioning delays, vendor lead times, and manual configuration processes can delay deployments by weeks or even months. This lack of agility puts businesses at a disadvantage in fast-moving markets. Security exposure: Traditional network security relied on perimeter defence – keeping threats out of a defined zone. But in a world of hybrid work, cloud services, and mobile access, that model is no longer viable. Legacy networks can't enforce user-specific policies, monitor east-west traffic, or support modern frameworks like Zero Trust or SASE. Lack of interoperability: Enterprises today rely on a blend of public and private cloud, SaaS platforms, and third-party integrations. Legacy networks, often built on proprietary systems, struggle to connect these components. This leads to fragmented data flows, siloed systems, and complex workarounds that drain IT bandwidth. Regulatory strain: Governments across the Middle East are tightening data governance rules, requiring more granular control over where data flows, how it's accessed, and who sees it. Legacy networks lack the visibility and programmability to meet these requirements, exposing organisations to compliance gaps and regulatory risk. Legacy networks may have once been enough. Today, they're a liability – delaying innovation, reducing competitiveness, and inflating operational costs. What NaaS delivers to modern enterprises Network as a Service allows businesses to subscribe to secure, software-defined connectivity. It eliminates the need to build and maintain infrastructure in-house. Core advantages include: Rapid deployment: Network changes that once required extensive planning, hardware procurement, and manual setup can now be rolled out in hours – sometimes minutes. This enables rapid site expansion, product launches, and real-time reconfiguration without business disruption. Simplified management: NaaS centralises control with intuitive dashboards and programmable APIs, giving IT teams visibility across the entire network. Real-time analytics, proactive alerts, and one-click policy enforcement reduce human error and increase responsiveness. Cost control: With a pay-as-you-go pricing model, NaaS allows businesses to align networking spend directly with usage. This eliminates the need for over-provisioning, reduces CapEx risk, and supports more agile budgeting cycles. Resilience and uptime: Built-in redundancies – such as dynamic routing, path optimisation, and failover protocols – enable consistent uptime. Many providers offer guaranteed SLAs to ensure reliability across multi-site or mission-critical environments. Security by design: Unlike bolt-on security solutions, NaaS integrates SASE, identity management, and threat detection into the network fabric itself. This allows secure access for distributed users while enforcing consistent policy across endpoints, devices, and clouds. Scalability on demand: Whether onboarding new branch locations, scaling cloud usage, or responding to a spike in application traffic, NaaS supports elastic growth. Capacity can be adjusted in real time – without physical infrastructure changes – making it ideal for enterprises in fast-moving or seasonal markets. By transferring infrastructure responsibilities to service providers, businesses can free up internal teams to focus on innovation, compliance, and customer experience. Why e& stands out in the region As one of the most established tech groups in the Middle East, e& UAE is helping governments, enterprises, and industries transition from legacy networks to future-ready platforms. The white paper lays out what makes its NaaS offering distinct: Standards-led design: Using the MEF NaaS Industry Blueprint ensures global interoperability and vendor-agnostic integration. This allows businesses to operate across multicloud environments, regional jurisdictions, and partner ecosystems without being locked into proprietary architectures. API orchestration: Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) integrates seamlessly with enterprise systems and DevOps pipelines, enabling real-time provisioning, dynamic policy updates, and automated fault recovery – cutting operational lead times by up to 80%. Sustainability-first approach: Deploying Ericsson AIR 3229 dual-band radios has not only reduced energy use by up to 20% but also lowered tower load by 25%, aligning with the region's rising ESG compliance benchmarks and national sustainability goals. AI-driven automation: AI-powered analytics and self-healing network capabilities enable proactive issue detection, traffic optimisation, and autonomous remediation. This leads to improved uptime, reduced operational overhead, and better user experiences. Investment in Aduna: As a founding partner in Aduna – a global network API initiative led by Ericsson – e& empowers developers to programmatically control network features like quality of service, slicing, and edge performance across carrier-grade infrastructure. Expert support: With regionally based network engineers and AI-enhanced support tools, e& delivers end-to-end service assurance – from solution design and deployment to 24/7 operations, dedicated SLAs, and continuous performance optimisation. This approach delivers more than technology – it delivers a partner with the resources, standards, and expertise to support real transformation. Why NaaS is resonating now Several intersecting trends are driving urgency around NaaS in the region: AI deployments are scaling up: Generative AI, machine learning, and edge inference workloads are becoming central to enterprise strategy across sectors including finance, healthcare, logistics, and public services. These systems require ultra-low latency, real-time data processing, and bandwidth-hungry infrastructure – all of which legacy networks struggle to support. NaaS enables AI-driven operations with dynamic provisioning, network segmentation, and workload-aware routing. New regulatory frameworks: Governments across the GCC are introducing more sophisticated laws around data protection, sovereignty, and digital identity. UAE's PDPL and Saudi Arabia's Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework are just two examples that demand fine-grained, policy-driven control. NaaS enables enterprises to embed compliance directly into network operations, reducing audit overhead and enhancing transparency. Cloud maturity: Enterprises are moving beyond basic cloud storage or SaaS adoption toward full cloud-native operations. According to IDC, by 2027, 70% of global enterprises will run containerised, multicloud networks spanning on-prem, edge, and public cloud. NaaS supports this evolution by integrating with orchestration tools and enabling unified visibility and control across fragmented environments. Environmental pressure: Network infrastructure is a major contributor to digital energy consumption, particularly in sectors scaling data centres, IoT, and AI workloads. Regulators and ESG-conscious investors are demanding greener operations. NaaS, with its virtualised model and vendor-managed optimisation, reduces the physical footprint and energy intensity of network infrastructure. Financial scrutiny: In an era of cautious capital spending, CIOs are under pressure to justify every investment. NaaS shifts spending from CapEx to OpEx, offers usage-based pricing, and speeds up time-to-value. It also reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) by eliminating hidden maintenance, upgrade, and staffing costs tied to legacy systems. For enterprises under pressure to innovate while managing risk, NaaS offers a way to do both. Five takeaways for Middle East enterprises Legacy networks are increasingly incompatible with national digital goals. As Middle Eastern governments pursue AI, smart city, and e-government ambitions, traditional network infrastructures are proving inadequate. Their inability to support real-time data flows, elastic compute, and secure cloud access directly contradicts the objectives of regional digital transformation programmes. NaaS enables secure, scalable connectivity without the capital drag. By shifting from hardware ownership to service consumption, enterprises gain access to state-of-the-art networking without the upfront investment. This unlocks faster time-to-value, reduces technical debt, and ensures flexibility in fast-changing business environments. Real-time compliance, governance, and analytics are built-in – not bolted on. NaaS integrates monitoring, policy enforcement, and data protection into the network's core. This allows IT teams to enforce compliance across multicloud environments and adapt quickly to regulations such as GDPR, UAE PDPL, and sector-specific mandates. e& is shaping the region's NaaS future with standards, automation, and AI. Leveraging MEF blueprints, AI-driven orchestration, and investments in API-based infrastructure through ventures like Aduna, e& is delivering a programmable, highly interoperable network architecture tailored for the region's unique regulatory and operational needs. Now is the moment to shift: delaying means risking competitiveness and compliance. Early adopters are already benefiting from lower costs, stronger security, and greater agility. Businesses that delay risk being constrained by legacy systems as peers move ahead with scalable, intelligent networks designed for the cloud and AI era. A smarter way to network In a digital-first economy, the network is not just a utility – it's a strategic asset. e&'s white paper makes a compelling case: NaaS is no longer optional. It's a business imperative. Enterprises that want to lead in AI, cloud, and smart city development need modern, flexible infrastructure. With regional understanding and global alignment, e& is positioned to help Middle East businesses rewire for resilience, scale, and sustainable growth.
