Saudi Arabia will invite bids from development companies later this year for a multi-billion riyal tourism project to be built on the west coast of the Kingdom.

King Abdullah has given instructions to transform the Obhur Corniche into a cultural and tourist centre as the kingdom looks to expand on its appeal as a global leader for religious tourism, said a Arab News report.

Spread over 140,000 sq m, the site will be developed into a permanent centre for religious festivities. It will also include a heritage village, an open stage and a site for fireworks, the paper reported.

The project follows plans by the board of Elaf Group, a subsidiary of Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO), to boost Saudi tourism revenue to SR73.3 billion ($19 billion) by 2010.

“We’ll conduct further studies before finalizing the designs,” Sami Nawar, head of tourism and culture at Jeddah municipality, was quoted as saying.

According to him, the tenders would be called within six months. “There is a proposal to establish an open-air auditorium that can accommodate 10,000 people,” he added.

The resorts will have a total of 557,000 rooms and create 413,000 jobs, including 165,000 direct jobs in the first five years.