Six Flags Entertainment Corporation plans to open three theme parks in Saudi Arabia at an investment of over $1.5 billion as part of its regional expansion plans, said a report.

The first of the project is likely to open in Riyadh over the next four to five years, reported Reuters citing its executive chairman Jim Reid-Anderson.

The parks, which will each cost between $300 and $500 million to build, are likely to be owned by the Saudi government, he added.

The other parks may come up in Jeddah and at a resort elsewhere on the western Red Sea coast.

With a waiver from Dubai Parks and Resorts, which holds exclusive rights via parent firm Meraas to develop and operate Six Flags-branded theme parks in the GCC, Six Flags can now work on the Saudi projects.

US-based Six Flags had announced in June that it had begun talks with the Saudi government to build theme parks as part of the kingdom's efforts to expand its entertainment sector and diversify the economy.