RIYADH — Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Turaifi will open the new headquarters of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) in Riyadh on May 26. Turaifi is the chairman of the agency's board of directors. The 10-story building, an artwork of modern architecture with the state-of-the-art facilities, is located in Al-Sahafa district in the northern part of Riyadh. SPA Director Abdullah Al-Hussain said the building, which occupies an area of 10,000 square meters, cost more than SR147 million to construct. The building contains three meeting halls equipped with video transmission to hold visual conferencing with the staff in their rooms. Hussain said the building contains a media center with an area of 1,160 square meters occupying three stories. A replica of planet earth covers a 37 square meter area. "The statue of the universe indicates the agency's continuous communication with the world to monitor and circulate news around the clock," he said. Hussain said the center has a theater with 280 seats and a large screen and facilities for translation and video distribution. He said four high-resolution cameras , linked to the control room, will cover all major events. In addition, there are a number of small studios for interviews, he added. Hussain also said the building has special rooms to record events for distribution among media organization.
