RIYADH — Authorities in Saudi Arabia have officially begun work on the second phase of the 800,000-sq-m venue for the mega World Defense Show in Riyadh — featuring the world’s first purpose-built runway for a defense event.

The world-class event, which will take place in Riyadh between March 6 to 9, 2022 and reoccur biennially, seeks to “cement Saudi Arabia’s position at the heart of the global defense industry and strengthen relationships with existing and potential industry partners,” according to the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI).

Founded by GAMI, the show is the global stage for defense interoperability across five domains: land, sea, air, security, and satellite.

The show will help Saudi Arabia realize its Vision 2030 goal to localize 50 percent of its military expenditure, “especially by promoting further collaboration with governments and defense manufacturers around the world.”

Giving a project update, GAMI said more than one million tons of earth have been processed in the first week of works in preparation for the construction of the flagship event’s exhibition halls, access roads and car parking areas.

According to organizers, the first of two halls is on track for completion by October this year. By December 2021, the second hall will be completed along with a new access road, land forces demonstration area and courtyard — a central point of access for dozens of hospitality suites playing host to high-level meetings between suppliers and buyers.

All runway clearing and excavation activities were finalized in Phase ONe of construction, with 89% of grading works completed — paving the way for state-of-the-art demonstrations of the latest military aircraft during the four-day event from 6-9 March 2022.

Hundreds of construction vehicles have been part of the construction efforts, including 75 bulldozers, 53 tipper trucks, 15 excavators and 12 roller compactors.

Shaun Ormrod, CEO of the World Defense Show, said: "World Defense Show is the first event to be dedicated to tech-integration across the industry’s five domains, showcasing true interoperability at the greatest level — a topic that has become a growing challenge for defense decision-makers around the world."

"A central part of that is our venue, which is equipped with 800,000 sqm of the unrestricted area and purpose-built facilities for equipment demonstrations, conferences and exhibition halls," he noted.

"The exhibition area will use interactive technologies for product displays, simulations, and engaging seminars on an unprecedented scale," stated Ormrod.

"We are also proud to be the world’s first defense event to host a runway on-site for live military aircraft demonstrations," he added.— SG