(Bloomberg) — The head of one of Saudi Arabia’s largest developers, seen as an important driver of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trillion-dollar economic transformation program, has left the firm.
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Roshn Real Estate Co. Chief Executive Officer David Grover departed earlier this month, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. He had been in the role for just under four years.
A spokesperson for Roshn declined to comment. Grover couldn’t be reached for comment.
Owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Roshn is building close to 400,000 homes across the kingdom along with about 1,000 schools, as well as entire commercial and entertainment districts. The developments are part of a plan to upgrade infrastructure in the world’s biggest oil exporter and help diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons.
In an interview in September, Grover said Roshn is expected to award contracts worth 35 billion riyals ($9.3 billion) over the next 12 months as it ramps up construction. The firm had lined up about 10 billion riyals in funding, including a 6 billion-riyal revolving credit facility from three local banks last year.
Saudi Arabia has about $1.3 trillion of major projects in the works, including Neom and Red Sea resorts off the kingdom’s west coast. McKinsey & Co. estimates the country is set to spend more than $175 billion annually on projects between 2025 and 2028.
The government plans to spend some $800 billion on tourism over the next decade as it prepares Saudi Arabia for a post-oil future that includes becoming a major hub for everything from metals mining to sporting events. The goal is to have 150 million tourists a year by 2030, with about 70 million coming from abroad.
Read More: Saudi Arabia Seeks Investment of $80 Billion in Tourism Push
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