The Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) signed a $1bn (SAR 3.75 billion) contract yesterday with Saudi and French construction companies to build its Six Flags theme park in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia’s Almabani General Contractors and France’s Bouygues Bâtiment International, a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction, agreed the deal at the Qiddiya Experience Centre in the Saudi capital.

Last year, GCR reported that engineer Atkins had won a three-year lead consultant role for the park, including the design for the Falcon’s Flight, which will be the longest, tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the world.

QIC was created in May 2018, and is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment fund. The aim is to advance the tourism component of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 national development plan, which aims to dilute the economy’s reliance on oil and retain a portion of the $30bn that Saudis spend on foreign holidays each year.