BIM on Saudi giga-projects: how NEOM, Red Sea Global, Qiddiya, ROSHN and Diriyah use it

BIM on Saudi giga-projects is the norm for design and construction packages, but the rules do not come from one place. NEOM, Red Sea Global, Qiddiya, ROSHN and Diriyah each set their own digital delivery requirements in their tenders and contracts. We searched for a single PIF regulation that mandates BIM on every new project and did not find one.

That matters for anyone bidding. You cannot read one national document and know what a giga-project will ask of you. You have to read the developer's requirements, package by package, and answer them in your BIM execution plan.

Is there a PIF regulation that requires BIM?

Not one we could find. We searched PIF publications, Saudi and regional press, and developer sites for a PIF-wide BIM regulation, standard or policy, and found none. The PIF giga-projects pages did not load for us, so we cannot rule out a document we could not reach, but no news report or developer document we read cites one.

What the record does show is a national push. Oxford Business Group reports that Saudi Arabia mandated BIM for government work, with the Saudi Contractors Authority overseeing implementation across a number of giga-projects. OBG does not cite a regulation number. For the detail on government and permit requirements, see our article on whether BIM is mandatory in Saudi Arabia.

In shortOn PIF-backed giga-projects, BIM requirements come from each developer's own employer or exchange information requirements and contracts, within a national push toward BIM. We found no PIF-wide BIM regulation.

NEOM: digital ambition, a smaller Line

NEOM set out early as a digital project. In February 2022 its technology unit launched XVRS, described as a 3D cognitive digital twin and metaverse platform. In 2024 the head of digital and IT for Trojena, NEOM's mountain destination, spoke at a US construction technology event about data ecosystems and digital twins.

On the delivery side, consultant job adverts show what NEOM work looks like in practice. A Jacobs advert for a BIM Manager on a NEOM water project asks for ISO 19650 knowledge and experience with Autodesk Construction Cloud and common data environments. That is evidence of practice on one package. It is not a published NEOM standard.

The programme itself has shrunk. Gulf News reported in July 2025 that only 2.4 km of The Line was expected by 2030, against 170 km of planned linear development, and that active construction workers had been cut by 35% since April 2025. In January 2026 Euronews reported a redesign of The Line and a shift toward data centres. For contractors, that means fewer building packages on The Line and more infrastructure and data-centre work across NEOM. We cover that sector in BIM for data centres in Saudi Arabia.

Red Sea Global: twins for the site and the sea

Red Sea Global uses digital twins at two scales. DHI built a digital twin of the lagoon's marine environment so planners could test coastal scenarios before building. At LEAP 2026, stc Group's iot squared showed an operations platform for Red Sea Global that monitors Shura Island and Turtle Bay in real time across 10 square kilometres.

Construction moved fast. By August 2025, six resorts had opened at The Red Sea destination, according to Arab News. AIM United worked on Amaala, Red Sea Global's second destination, from 2022 to 2023: infrastructure design and verification with full BIM services, shop drawings, as-built models and redesign where required.

Qiddiya: a data platform behind the parks

Six Flags Qiddiya City opened on 31 December 2025. Qiddiya Investment Company is now building its data layer. In May 2026 it expanded its Google Cloud partnership to build a unified data platform on BigQuery, with AI systems that track visitor behaviour and construction progress. A QIC job advert for a Senior Manager, Digital Twin describes a strategy that connects BIM, GIS, IoT and that unified data platform.

AIM United has worked across Qiddiya since 2023. On Six Flags Qiddiya we delivered MEP design modelling, coordinated shop drawings and multi-discipline clash resolution for 94 buildings, from LOD 400 to LOD 500, including sitewide external power and lighting. Current work includes mechanical and electrical BIM for Qiddiya Speed Park, MEP BIM for the Wadi and Gateway hotels, and full multi-discipline BIM for the Living Heritage cultural centre.

ROSHN: BIM handed on to facility management

ROSHN, the community developer, is rolling BIM out to its contractors, consultants and vendors, and uses Esri GIS alongside it, according to a Geospatial World case study. Arab News reported in April 2023 that ROSHN had linked its BIM to computer-aided facility management and asset registers, so it can identify each pipe, valve and junction box in a community.

That is the clearest public example of a giga-project developer asking for BIM that survives handover. Contractors on ROSHN-style work should plan asset data from the first model, not at the end. Our as-built and COBie handover service is built for this.

Diriyah: BIM meets heritage

A Geospatial World case study says the Diriyah Gate Development Authority uses GIS, BIM and other geospatial tools, with El Seif delivering infrastructure and Esri and Bentley among the technology partners. Diriyah adds a constraint the other projects lack: new building sits beside At-Turaif, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Existing conditions must be captured accurately before anyone designs around them, which is where laser scanning comes in. See our article on scan to BIM for Saudi heritage buildings.

AIM United has modelled two Al Diriyah Club training grounds, at Al Khaliyah and Dhahrat Laban, from LOD 200 massing to a coordinated LOD 350 model.

What do giga-projects ask contractors to deliver?

The documents differ, but the shape of the requirements is consistent across the giga-project packages we have worked on and the adverts and case studies above. Expect to provide:

• A BIM execution plan that answers the developer's information requirements, usually structured on ISO 19650.
• Work in the developer's common data environment, with its naming, status codes and approval workflow.
• Coordinated models at the stated level of development, with clash reports on a fixed cycle. Read our guide to LOD 300, 400 and 500 before you price.
• Shop drawings from the model, not drawn separately.
• Field-verified as-built models and asset data at handover, in the format the operator's systems accept.

If your team lacks one of these, plan for it at bid stage. Our BIM standards and ISO 19650 consultancy writes BEPs and sets up CDE workflows, and our BIM modelling and shop drawing team delivers LOD 400 and LOD 500 models for contractors on giga-project packages.

What to watch in 2027

Three trends stand out from the public record. Developers are moving from design-stage BIM to operations, with twins and data platforms at Red Sea Global, Qiddiya and ROSHN. Programmes are being re-phased, as NEOM shows, which shifts work between sectors. And data centres are becoming a giga-project category of their own. Contractors who can hand over usable asset data, not just drawings, will find more doors open.

Frequently asked questions

Written by the AIM United BIM team in Jeddah. AIM United delivers BIM, scan to BIM, digital twins and design-build across Saudi Arabia.