PIF-owned ROSHN Group’s David Grover shares the company’s ambitious plans

ROSHN Group, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) giga-project, announced the opening of sales for Warefa, a new mixed-use residential community in Riyadh in October last year. The group also launched the third phase of sales of its flagship Sedra project, aiming to add 3,438 residential units to the 1,904 properties already offered for sale as part of the initial rollout. Sedra is ROSHN’s first integrated residential project in the kingdom, specifically Riyadh, and it is being developed in eight phases.

We spoke to the group CEO David Grover to learn more about the new sales launches and how the group is building on the objectives of Vision 2030.

Tell us about SEDRA 3 and WAREFA. What makes them unique?

SEDRA 3 is the latest phase of our landmark development that introduced Saudi Arabia to ROSHN’s vision for a new way of life. Connected to Riyadh’s iconic ROSHN Front entertainment and business hub, SEDRA has rapidly become the capital’s most desirable community. WAREFA is an entirely new development that places residents in Riyadh’s promising, dynamic, and exciting Al Janadriyyah district, located in the east of the city and within easy reach of the capital’s key locations.

Both SEDRA and WAREFA exemplify the new way of living ROSHN is bringing to Saudi Arabia, with the overarching goal to put people first, sustainably boost quality of life, and enable healthy, fulfilling lifestyles for both residents and visitors.

Both projects integrate low-density, high-quality, and beautifully designed homes into real, people-first communities. Amid open areas that enable socialising and human interaction, vital and lifestyle amenities are readily accessible along naturally shaded, ‘living streets’ designed for walking and cycling. This puts everything from hospitals and schools to restaurants and sports facilities on the doorsteps of residents while integration with the wider Riyadh transport network means these areas are also vibrant hubs for visitors too.

Future-facing smart technologies maximise sustainability and livability while cutting living costs. Yet, while both developments are future-facing SEDRA and WAREFA are also in touch with the unique heritage of the Riyadh region. Both incorporate natural features into their design, including acacia forests and wadis, while our architectural and design inspiration stems from Riyadh’s regional building vernaculars, materials, and colour palettes to create communities that draw a through-line from history, to the present, and onto the future with a complete, culturally informed aesthetic.

What do these sales launches entail?

SEDRA 3 will add a total of 3,438 more homes to Riyadh’s most desirable community, with 1,904 units for sale in this initial sales tranche. Buyers will be able to choose between eight floorplans and eleven facades, available in single- or multi-family configurations and ranging from charming three- or four-bedroom townhouses and duplexes to spacious four- or five-bedroom villas.

Meanwhile, in WAREFA we are launching a first tranche of 1,609 new homes from a total of 2,380 when the development is complete. These once again vary between duplexes townhouses, duplexes, and four- or five-bedroom villas. In both cases, sales will be made on a first-come, first-served basis without a waiting list, a departure from our previous sales launches and one based on customer feedback.

Why are these projects important to Riyadh and Saudi Arabia?

For Riyadh, SEDRA 3 and WAREFA answer a demand for high-quality homes while also creating new hubs for quality of life-boosting activities – from shopping to sports, education to dining out.

In the case of WAREFA, this is the first integrated community in the vibrant and dynamic Al Janadriyyah district. At the city’s eastern gateway, WAREFA will create new jobs and boost the local economy. Meanwhile, SEDRA 3 will have a similar impact while also standing as a new destination close to the existing ROSHN Front and other SEDRA phases.

Taken together, they exemplify the openness, ambition, and vibrancy of modern Saudi Arabia and Vision 2030, with people socialising, living beyond walls, and embracing the fulfilling, healthy lifestyles we are pioneering within the kingdom.

How do these contribute to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification, real estate sector growth, and creation of investment opportunities?

The real estate sector in Saudi Arabia is growing at an incredible rate and is expected to reach a value of SAR241bn this year and reach SAR353.21bn by 2028, as a result, it is a major pillar of the kingdom’s economic diversification programme, contributing some 7 per cent to annual GDP. We are proud to be helping drive this growth through our projects and broadening the sector’s positive economic impact by partnering with local suppliers to increase wider economic resilience.

At a foundational level, our real estate projects directly and indirectly create jobs – both within the sector and as a result of our developments. We have already created thousands of direct jobs and made significant GDP contributions in-line with our commitments to Vision 2030 job creation and GDP contribution goals. Turning to the partnerships we form with local suppliers to strengthen our supply chain, we’ve implemented over 70 collaborative partnership framework agreements worth well over SAR2bn and are looking ahead to more than 100 more identified opportunities across sub-developers, factories, infrastructure, and technology providers.

Finally, our mixed-use developments – which include F&B outlets, office space, hotels and hospitality services, education, healthcare and wellness, and digital services, and ICT​ – are also opening up new domestic and foreign direct investment opportunities in the kingdom. We are creating ecosystems where job creators can themselves thrive, safe in the knowledge that we are a trustworthy preferred partner as testified by our recent Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) Ethical Kitemark for procurement, further diversifying the kingdom’s economy in-line with its Vision 2030 goals.

How do these sales launches fit into the ROSHN Group’s wider strategy?

We are expanding into nine real estate verticals, including community retail, lifestyle retail, commercial, education, leisure and entertainment, hospitality, regeneration programs, healthcare facilities, and mosques. This is central to our strategy of becoming a globally significant multi-asset real estate developer.

Both SEDRA 3 and WAREFA are part of this expansion, with WAREFA offering schools and childcare facilities, covering early childhood through to secondary school, a public hospital, mosques, and a district mall alongside a wide range of commercial, food and beverage, and retail spaces. ​SEDRA meanwhile, includes a similar range of amenities, as well as offering privileged access to the ROSHN Front lifestyle shopping and business district of Riyadh.

How are these sales contributing to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals?

These sales launches represent another vital step by ROSHN towards realising our commitments to Saudi Vision 2030’s goals to see 70 per cent home ownership by building over 400,000 homes by 2030. Furthermore, with our multi-asset offer, both SEDRA and WAREFA will boost quality of life and support economic growth by creating jobs and boosting promising sectors.

Yet, as a PIF-powered giga-project, we also seek to set a positive example for developers in the region. WAREFA, for example, has achieved Diamond Mostadam sustainability ratings, the highest possible recognition within the kingdom, while we have also set regional firsts with Smart City and Procurement Kitemark standards, as well as signing up to the UN Global Compact on responsible business practices, enshrining ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour rights, environmental protection, and anti-corruption efforts into our strategy and day-to-day work.

What are your next steps and plans?

We have a pipeline of exciting, transformative, mixed-use developments still to be announced, as well as ongoing work on the coming phases of those projects we have already launched.

One of these is our MARAFY project in Jeddah, which will soon become an iconic mixed-use residential, retail, and F&B destination within the Kingdom. The centerpiece of MARAFY will be an 11km canal – the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia,

connecting the city to the Red Sea, allowing for convenient water transportation and the hosting of world-class water sports facilities.

With Vision 2030 guiding us, it’s an exciting time for all of us in the kingdom, and for us at ROSHN, we’re proud to be part of it.