Saudi Arabia's Arriyadh Development Company expects to receive government approval for a project worth more than 13 billion riyals ($3.47 billion) in capital Riyadh, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

The project, part of the redevelopment plan for downtown Riyadh, will be funded largely by the government and members of a consortium, Khalid Al-Dughaither told reporters on the sidelines of a Meed conference in Abu Dhabi.

The project, called Duhairah District, will be constructed in nine stages over 15 years, and includes residential, retail and tourism components, he said.

The eight-partner consortium will include Saudi Arabia's Dar Al-Arkan, Saudi Real Estate Co and Lebanon's Solidere, he said.

'We are in the final stages of the master plan and feasibility study. Approval by the government should be this year,' al-Dughaither said.

'For any renewal development there should be government support. So we expect government support in the infrastructure development,' he said.

The project will span an area of 750,000 sq m and include demolishing part of downtown Riyadh. 'We will move first to land acquisition and asset acquisition and then start demolishing and then infrastructure after that,' he said. - Reuters