RIYADH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Saudi's General Entertainment Authority announced on Thursday the construction of an opera house in Riyadh, Al Arabiya reported.

The General Entertainment Authority chief, Ahmad bin Aqeel al-Khatib, said that the construction of the building has already begun, adding that the new project aims to reach the international standard for the entertainment sector.

The opera house is part of the 64-billion-U.S.-dollar budget to be spent in the sector in the next 10 years. During the authority's ceremony launching the kingdom's 2018 entertainment calendar, Khatib said that the authority held 2,200 entertainment events in 2017 and aimed at organizing 50,000 in 2018.

Entertainment is one of the sectors Saudi Arabia is banking on to diversify its economy in the post-oil era, mainly attracting local and foreign investments.