Unveiling Saudi Arabia Saudi

Arabia’s mega vision for its tourism industry is thoroughly embodied by way of two large-scale developments along its Red Sea coast, led by the far-sighted John Pagano

- VARUN GODINHO

The Red Sea Project is determined to transform the tourism trajectory of the world’s largest Arab economy. The sustainable development project which will have its own airport, ultra-luxury hotels and resorts, and cutting-edge mobility solutions, is spread across 28,000 square kilometres – for scale, that’s a little smaller than Belgium.

Within Saudi, the Red Sea development is among three other giga projects – including Neom, Qiddiya, and Amaala – that are being planned and executed as part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030, directly overseen by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

John Pagano, a veteran property developer with nearly four decades of experience within the field, was handpicked and appointed to the role of CEO of The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC)by the Crown Prince himself. Pagano, the former director of London’s Canary Wharf, who saw the London development project from its inception in the Margaret Thatcher era and spent 23 years with the group, was already retired when the idea of heading up TRSDC was suggested to him. “When I was approached about coming to Saudi Arabia, at first I wasn’t that interested. But they persuaded me to come. I met His Royal Highness, and I was honoured to have the future sovereign of this country directly ask me to lead what is a very near and dear project to him. It wasn’t just the project that attracted me as much as the effect that the project would have on helping transform the country and bring it into a [new] era,” Pagano tells Gulf Business.