For the past three years, Saudi Arabia has been promoting through its Quality of Life Program new options for participation in cultural, entertainment, and sporting events that contribute to improved standards of living across the country. This week, in line with Kingdom’s efforts, the Municipality of Medina has launched a call for investors to build a women’s sports club at the intersection of Salim Bin Obeid Road with Umaymah Bint Qais Al-Ghaffariah Road.
Announced on the Investment Opportunities portal, the news included a call to investors to establish and operate the sports club on a plot of land is about 8,700 square meters. The call states that facility should comprise a large gymnasium designed exclusively for women and furnished with a range of sports equipment and machines for all kinds of fitness activities, from cardio to body-building and weight training. The call also states that construction of the facility will be at a rate of 60 percent and based on a long-term contract.
This most recent call for investment in Medina falls within the mayoralty’s objectives to boost economic activity in the city while also contributing to the improvement of overall quality of life for the city’s residents. It falls under the Kingdom’s larger Quality of Life objectives, with one of the main ones being to include at least three Saudi cities in the list of the top 100 cities in the world to live in by 2030.
The program is specifically looking to achieve non-oil, gross domestic production growth in related sectors by 20 percent every year until 2020, provide additional jobs and investment opportunities, and create diversified economic activities that will enhance the status of Saudi cities in international rankings of the most livable cities.
To achieve these goals, the program comprises 23 objectives including four directly related to the concept of lifestyle: the promotion of sporting activities; excellence in several sports regionally and globally; development of diverse entertainment opportunities to meet the needs of the population; and enhancement of Saudi contribution to arts and culture. With specific regards to sports, the program is aiming to increase support and development of sporting activities, providing over 490 locations across the country for practicing, and also aims to promote the increased participation of girls in school athletics.
