That wish appears to have manifested as a theme park outside Riyadh for Qiddiya Investment Co., a real estate developer backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The Persian Gulf country’s latest attempt to boost tourism will have 30 rides featuring Goku, Freeza and other characters, according to the firm’s website. The park will encompass more than 5.3-million square feet within Qiddiya City, a plot of desert around 40 minutes from the capital that has been marked for development as an entertainment district, with plans for a stadium, hotels, a water park, a Six Flags park and golf courses.
Saudi Arabia has been pouring billions of dollars into development projects that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees as key to help the country lower its reliance on oil. The country has a target of 150 million tourists a year by 2030, and the crown prince has positioned video games and entertainment as a pillar of the country’s future growth.
Japan-based Toei Animation Co. and a unit of MBS’ MiSK Foundation have teamed up on producing anime movies. The country’s sovereign wealth fund is now Nintendo Co.’s largest outside shareholder.
One of the park’s signature rides will be a 230-foot-high roller coaster named after Shenron, the manga’s magical dragon.
The theme park announcement comes just days after the death of Akira Toriyama, the creator behind “Dragon Ball.” The franchise has sold more than 260 million copies worldwide and inspired several anime series, video games and Hollywood-produced films.
Although the Saudi desert seems like an unlikely location for a Dragon Ball theme park, it’s guaranteed to be hot: Daytime temperatures in Riyadh’s summer can easily skyrocket to more than 122 degrees Fahrenheit.