RIYADH: Greek development firm Archirodon has joined forces with Saudi Arabia’s Arabian Construction Co. to build a staff village at one of Red Sea Global’s leading tourist destinations. The joint venture will see the construction of facilities in the Amaala development, including a beach club, mosque, and multifunctional hall, according to MEED. The reported SR1 billion ($267 million) contract will also see the developers responsible for the engineering, installation, and other assorted aspects of the residential assets and infrastructure. Archirodon has previously worked on the Red Sea project with regards to coral transplantation, including the relocation and transplantation of around 21,000 crates of the sea organism. Once complete, Amaala will be home to more than 3,000 rooms across 25 hotels, as well as hosting around 900 luxury residential villas, apartments, and estate homes. In January, RSG awarded a nearly SR1 billion contract to Saudi-based Al-Ayuni Investment and Contracting Co. to develop utilities infrastructure systems at one of its resorts. The firm will carry out the work in the first phase of development at AMAALA, while also working on minimizing Triple Bay’s carbon footprint. RSG has made involving Saudi companies in its development a key goal, and has organized a series of local and regional meetings highlighting partnership opportunities. Representatives from more than 100 businesses attended the first regional meeting, held in Doha in March, with RSG looking to award about SR25 billion worth of contracts as the development grows. So far in 2023, 70 percent of existing contracts were awarded to Saudi companies. Speaking in March Ben Edwards, group head of cost, commercial and procurement, talked up the opportunities in construction for Red Sea Global destinations, including building infrastructure, marine and civil engineering, plumbing and furnishing. He added that the company is also looking for partners with global experience in tourism, such as food and beverages and other hospitality services. The Red Sea project is set to open its first three resorts this year, and its Red Sea International Airport is nearing the first phase of completion.