New-Murabba on SAUDI VISION 2030 Intelligence Platform

New Murabba and The Mukaab: downtown Riyadh cost, design, timeline, and risk

Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

New Murabba is PIF’s planned new downtown in northwest Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The New Murabba project is developed by New Murabba Development Company, a PIF company, and is anchored by The Mukaab, a planned 400m x 400m x 400m cube-shaped landmark. As of May 26, 2026, the clean answer for “new murabba news today” is not that the district is open. It is that New Murabba remains an active official project with design, infrastructure, technology, sustainability, and partnership updates, while Reuters-syndicated reporting in January 2026 said construction of The Mukaab beyond excavation and pilings was suspended for financing and feasibility reassessment [S1], [S2], [S3], [S11].

The Mukaab: Saudi Arabia's $50 Billion Cube That Built Nothing

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mukaab suspended: Saudi Arabia’s $50 billion cube moved from a 2030 showcase to a 2040 question mark, with only early site work and roughly $100 million in contracts visible against the headline plan.

On 15 February 2023, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled New Murabba — a $50 billion redevelopment of downtown Riyadh centred on the Mukaab, a structure that would be the world’s largest single-built edifice. The Mukaab would be a cube: 400 metres on each side, enclosing approximately 2 million square metres of interior floor space. The interior would contain a dome — the largest AI-powered display on the planet — observed from a ziggurat rising over 300 metres within the cube’s shell. The structure would be, in the promotional material’s own framing, “large enough to fit 20 Empire State Buildings.”

New Murabba

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Definition

New Murabba is a 19-square-kilometre master-planned mixed-use development in the al-Qirawan district of northwestern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Developed by New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), it is designed as Riyadh’s new downtown district. The development’s signature landmark is The Mukaab, a 400-metre cube-shaped structure whose construction was suspended in January 2026.

Overview

New Murabba is planned to deliver 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, 980,000 square metres of retail space, 1.4 million square metres of office space, and 620,000 square metres of leisure and entertainment facilities. The district targets 400,000 residents, 100,000 daily commuters, and 90 million annual visitors. It is projected to contribute SAR 180 billion ($48 billion) to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP and create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The Mukaab

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Definition

The Mukaab (Arabic: “the cube”) is a planned 400-metre-tall, 400-metre-wide, 400-metre-deep cube-shaped mega-structure in the al-Qirawan district of northwestern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Announced in February 2023 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, it is the anchor landmark of the New Murabba development and would be the largest building in the world by volume if completed. Construction was suspended in January 2026 amid a broader recalibration of PIF giga-project spending.

Overview

The Mukaab is designed to contain approximately 2 million square metres of interior floor space across hotel, residential, retail, entertainment, and cultural uses. Its interior concept features a 300-metre spiral ziggurat tower and the world’s largest AI-powered immersive dome display. The design draws on Najdi architectural traditions and is developed by AtkinsRealis, with AECOM and Jacobs appointed for detailed engineering. The project is owned by New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund.

The Mukaab: Inside Saudi Arabia's $50 Billion Cube and Why It Was Suspended

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Mukaab: Saudi Arabia’s $50B Cube and Why It Was Suspended

On 28 January 2026, The Mukaab was suspended before superstructure work began, turning the 400-metre cube at the centre of Riyadh’s New Murabba into the clearest test of Saudi giga-project reprioritisation. Excavation had reached 86 per cent and more than 10 million cubic metres of earth had been moved, but no official cancellation followed: the project moved from headline icon to delayed, capital-constrained megaproject.