Saudi Red Sea Resort Project Secures $1.73B Loan Amid PIF Funding Cuts

Saudi Arabia's Red Sea luxury resort project, AMAALA, has secured a SAR 6.5 billion ($1.73 billion) loan facility from three Saudi lenders, including Riyad Bank and the Saudi Investment Bank.

This development comes as the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Red Sea Global outright, has cut construction awards across its giga-project portfolio by roughly 60% since 2024, from $71 billion to under $30 billion.

The loan facility is notable because it marks a shift towards commercial financing for the project, rather than relying on sovereign backing. Red Sea Global's CEO, John Pagano, has stated that the company has committed funding from PIF, but the numbers suggest that even its best-performing projects are now expected to help fund themselves.

The move is part of a broader fiscal arithmetic behind the kingdom's shift in priorities. With a break-even oil price estimated above $90 a barrel and crude trading closer to $60-65 for much of the past year, Saudi Aramco has cut its dividend by roughly a third, to $84.5 billion, in 2025.