RIYADH: The Red Sea Development Co., until now, has signed over 800 contracts worth SR20 billion ($5.33 billion) for the Red Sea Project alone, the firm revealed in a statement. Touted to be one of the world’s most ambitious tourism projects, the Red Sea Project also received “ISO22301:2019 Security and resilience — business continuity management systems” certification, awarded by the British Standards Institution. The certification came as recognition for the achievement of the company in guiding the development of the project despite significant challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the developer known as TRSDC said in the statement. TRSDC had over 8,000 employees and contractors working on the project during the pandemic, with herd immunity enabling for between 95 percent and 98 percent of its community, it said. “Our top priority at TRSDC is our people. This means we must always endeavor to make our organization not only one of the most sustainable tourism developers in the world, but the most resilient, which is able to protect our community from any risk or economic shock,” said John Pagano, CEO of TRSDC. “Despite impacted supply chains for construction materials and significant disruption of public health and global tourism systems, we did everything in our power to protect the health and wellbeing of our employees, while maintaining progress on site. We are honored to see this work recognized by the British Standards Institution.” Work on the Red Sea Project is progressing steadily, and the first guests are expected to be welcomed by the end of 2022. Phase one of the project includes 16 hotels, and the works are expected to be completed by 2023. Upon completion in 2030, the Red Sea Project is expected to house 50 resorts, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites. It will also include an international airport, luxury marinas, golf courses, entertainment, and leisure facilities.