Saudi Arabia breaks ground for top-notch "new Kaaba"

Saudi Arabia is building a gigantic cube in the middle of a new city centre in the capital Riyadh, the latest in a long line of curiously-shaped structures and cities planned by the kingdom.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the project on February 16, announcing that he will chair the New Murabba Development Company, which aims to develop “the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh”, Middle East Eye informs.

The project will feature a museum, a tech and design university, an immersive theatre and more than 80 entertainment venues, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund said in a statement.

At its centre will be "The Mukaab", which translates to cube, a mammoth 400-metre-long, wide and deep structure made up of overlapping triangular forms, in an architectural style inspired by the Najd region of Saudi Arabia.

The Mukaab will be “the world’s first immersive, experiential destination,” complete with “digital and virtual technology with the latest holographic”.

At one point in its promotional video, CGI dragons are seen flying around the structure and floating rocks hover in the atmosphere, perhaps a hint to the kind of “holographic” visitors can expect.

“Dine with gentle giants. Explore a world of magic, or live on Mars,” the video says vaguely, mixing reality with fantasy, cutting from a computer-generated restaurant surrounded by ocean water to flying otherworldly vehicles not out of place in a sci-fi movie.

The project will be located northwest of Riyadh in a 19-square-kilometre area at the intersection of King Salman and King Khalid roads.

It will include 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, over 980,000 square metres of retail space and 1.4m square metres of office space, according to the press release.

The Mukaab central structure will “be big enough to hold 20 Empire State buildings”.

The project will add 180 billion riyals ($48bn) to the Saudi economy and “create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs,” the press release claims. The cost of the gargantuan project was not mentioned.