New Murabba Replaces CEO Amid Saudi Giga-Project Reset

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has replaced the chief executive of New Murabba, the developer building one of Riyadh's most ambitious downtown projects, in a move that signals continued recalibration across the Kingdom's giga-project portfolio.

Sabah Barakat, a long-serving PIF executive, has taken over as acting CEO of New Murabba, according to the company's own website and a recent statement tied to an investment partnership announcement. He succeeds Michael Dyke, the British construction industry veteran who had led the company since January 2024 after arriving from infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty, where he oversaw the UK's HS2 rail project.

It remains unclear whether Dyke will stay on with the company in another capacity. PIF has referred inquiries about the leadership change to New Murabba directly, and the company has not issued a detailed public explanation for the switch. Dyke could not immediately be reached for comment.

A familiar face returns

Barakat is no stranger to New Murabba. He served as the project's acting chief executive during its formative stage before Dyke's appointment, helping establish the company's core leadership team, shape its concept master plan, and award its first major project management contracts. He currently also serves as acting group chief executive of ROSHN Group, one of the Kingdom's other flagship state-backed developers, and holds board seats across several PIF portfolio companies.

His return to the top of New Murabba comes at a sensitive moment for the project. New Murabba was unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in February 2023 as the blueprint for what officials described as the world's largest modern downtown, centered on the Mukaab — a cube-shaped structure roughly 400 meters tall that would function as a climate-controlled city within a city, blending residential towers, retail space, cultural venues and entertainment districts across a 19-square-kilometer site in northwestern Riyadh.

Giga-projects under the microscope

The management change follows months of scrutiny over how Saudi Arabia is financing and sequencing its giant development pipeline. Years of heavy capital outlays, combined with oil prices that have run below budget assumptions, have squeezed state revenues and forced planners to prioritize among competing megaprojects. Several previously announced components tied to New Murabba and other giga-projects were trimmed or deferred when PIF released its 2026–2030 strategy earlier this year.

Real estate consultancy Knight Frank has estimated the broader New Murabba district could ultimately cost in the region of $50 billion. The original completion target of 2030 has already slipped; the project is now expected to be delivered by 2040, reflecting the more measured pace officials are applying to the Kingdom's largest urban developments.

That recalibration is not unique to New Murabba. Across Vision 2030's portfolio — from NEOM to Qiddiya to the Red Sea developments — PIF has spent much of the past two years adjusting budgets, delivery timelines and, in some cases, leadership teams to reflect a more disciplined phase of execution after the initial rush of announcements between 2021 and 2023.

What it means for investors and contractors

For the construction and investment community watching Riyadh's transformation, the CEO switch is likely to be read as another signal that PIF is tightening oversight of its giga-project subsidiaries rather than abandoning them. Barakat's dual role atop both New Murabba and ROSHN suggests the fund may be consolidating senior leadership across its real estate arms, potentially to streamline decision-making and align spending priorities more closely with PIF's central strategy team.

The shake-up also arrives as Saudi Arabia's broader construction sector adjusts to a leaner funding environment. Industry bodies have noted that the value of construction contracts issued across the Kingdom fell sharply last year compared with 2024, a reflection of PIF's budget cutbacks and reprioritization of projects. Even so, the Kingdom continues to attract global interest: thousands of foreign contractors are competing for a project pipeline valued in the trillions of riyals, underscoring that the appetite for Saudi construction work remains strong even as individual projects face more rigorous financial discipline.

For now, New Murabba says it remains committed to delivering the Mukaab and its surrounding downtown district, with Barakat expected to steer the project through this next, more cautious phase. Whether he is eventually confirmed in a permanent capacity — or whether another leader is brought in once the broader giga-project strategy settles — will be closely watched by both the Riyadh business community and international investors tracking the pace of Saudi Arabia's economic transformation.