// Editor's note
editor’s note
Bag of surprises
In a first, after a hiatus of 35 years, Saudi Arabia opened its doors for the first movie theatre experience for its people, and voila! Black Panther saw another full house opening. Reopening of the cinemas marks the kingdom’s cautious diversification steps towards reducing the economic dependence on oil and in line with Vision 2030. Cashing on such a major boost to the Saudi entertainment industry, Majid Al Futtaim announced its plans to open 600 new VOX Cinemas screens across the kingdom over the next five years at an investment of SAR2bn. The announcement comes after VOX Cinemas, a unit of Majid Al Futtaim and one of the region’s largest theatre operators, was granted one of the first licenses to operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia. Its brandnew cinema, which will be the first multiplex in Saudi Arabia, will open at Riyadh
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Park Mall in the coming days, said the VOX Cinemas’ parent company in a statement. In addition to it, US cinema operator AMC Theatres partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to open 30 to 40 cinemas in 15 cities in the next five years and 50 to 100 cinemas in total in about 25 cities by 2030. Following the progress, the retail sector is also abuzz with the development. According to the recent real estate market report by JLL, cinemas, F&B, and entertainment options are increasingly becoming important for shopping centres and will play a greater role in the performance going forward. Several hotels are expected to open up this year, with many new entrants as well. Such developments are expected to give the kingdom’s tourism sector a cautious push and capitalise on them to build a sustainable outlook for the country in the long-term.
// construction business news me // May 2018
Paromita Dey Editor paromita@bncpublishing.net @paromitadey1 linkedin.com/in/paromita-dey