09
The planned economic cities will also see major retail In June 2009, Saudi developer Akwaan is due to complete
investments. Savola Group, which administers 14 Saudi shopping construction on a multi-million building materials mall in Riyadh.
malls, has signed an MoU valued at US$133 million, for the first The company also plans to expand in the eastern province of the
phase of retail development at Medina’s Knowledge Economic country – it is developing another building materials mall and a
City, covering more than 100,000 square metres. The group plans four-million-square-metre mixed-used complex with residential,
to build a hypermarket and more than 300 stores, and there are commercial and, possibly, educational elements.
also plans for a second phase to expand the city’s retail space by “Saudi Arabia is an interesting market to watch because it has
an additional 300,000 square metres. one of the most inwardly serving property sectors in the MENA
region,” said Imad Damrah, Country Director Saudi Arabia,
Mixed-use model Colliers International.
The mixed-use model is extending its reach across the Gulf According to Damrah, Saudi Arabia offers growth potential
region, and Saudi is no exception. In Jeddah, Al Oula Development across all industry sectors and an encouraging outlook for the
Company and Emaar are working on Jeddah Gate, a 500,000- future. “The kingdom remains a prime opportunity for investors
square-metre mixed-use development valued at US$1.2 and developers offering the largest market in the GCC and a
billion. The project will include Al Hilal Towers – three residential population set to grow from 25 million to 33 million by 2020,”
buildings housing 6,000 units plus two office towers. he concluded.
t
Construction started in February 2008 and the company
recently confirmed that the project is on track for completion
during 2010.
Left: Al Faisaliah Hotel
In February this year, Kingdom Holding quashed media reports Below: King Abdullah Economic City
that its Kingdom City project had been shelved in light of the
global financial crisis. The US$16.7 billion project will parade
Kingdom Tower – also known as Mile High Tower – which could
be the tallest building in the world at over 1,000 metres. The
project was officially launched in October 2008, and will cover
7.1 square kilometres in Jeddah, with residential and commercial
buildings, as well as hotels.
Construction on Jabal Omar in the holy city of Makkah started
in January 2008, with Jadwa Investment providing the funding
for the US$3.3 billion project. Jabal Omer will cover an area of
230,000 square metres, and will comprise 4,500 shops, 3,000
showrooms, parking for 30,000 vehicles, residential towers,
an office tower and six five-star hotels. The residential site is
planned to accommodate 34,500 people, with an open prayer
space for 85,000 worshippers. Completion is scheduled for
January 2011.
UAE developer Limitless is nearing the completion of
groundworks for Al Wasl, a US$12.5 billion integrated community
on a 14 million-square-metre site north of Riyadh. It will comprise
over 55,000 homes, one million square metres of office space,
three 2,000-capacity mosques, seven shopping centres, over
300 hectares of green space, as well as schools, a university, a
hospital and a sports stadium. It is anticipated that the project will
be completed in five phases.
Construction work has started on the US$5.4 billion King
Abdullah Financial Centre, a 1.6 million-square-metre complex in
Riyadh, with 60 commercial and residential buildings, which will
be the largest financial complex in the Middle East. In December
2008 it was announced that the developer, the Public Pension
Agency, is in the process of awarding design contracts for a
number of buildings within the centre.
PREVIEW Cityscape Saudi Arabia
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