KNOWLEDGE ECONOMIC CITY MAIN PLAZA


infrastructure: new developments saudi arabia 2012


Al Akaria is also working on a final blueprint for its Riyadh Techno Valley project. The latter will be a complex of research facilities backed by the govern- ment, private research institutions and the King Saud University. The project aims to be a leading technology park that promotes the culture of innovation and competence for its associated knowledge- based institutions and business partners. On the fun side, plans were announced in February this year for an indoor Ôsnow villageÕ in a Riyadh mall. The deal has been struck between Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Ð the developer of the 250,000-square-metre Alqasr Mall in Riyadh Ð and Al Othaim which will lease space in the shopping centre to create the attraction.


KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY


MORE ROOMS


On the hospitality front, nearly 50 new hotels offering more than 14,000 extra rooms were expected to have opened in Saudi Arabia last year to cope with the huge increase in visitors, according to Arabian press figures. Projected figures were not available for 2012 at time of press, but it was reported in May 2011 that hotel properties, valued at US$7.3 billion, were set to start operations around that time, with tourism officials expecting to see tourist numbers rise to 88 million over the next decade. That said, more than 2.3 mil- lion jobs were planned in tourism over the same period to cope with the rise of visitor numbers, according to the Saudi Commis- sion for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). A key destination for both business and leisure travellers and one of the most stun- ning new hotels in Riyadh is The Ritz-Carl- ton. Enjoying a prime spot on the Mekkah Road and standing within 213,500 square metres (52 acres) of beautifully landscaped gardens, The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh is up there among the grandest palace hotels in the world. Originally envisaged as a royal guest palace for visiting dignitaries and heads of state, the hotelÕs architecture is a truly outstanding and elegant statement in Arabian design. The surrounding gardens are sculpted using 600-year-old olive trees from Lebanon amid water fountains. The hotel itself boasts 49 lavishly appointed two-bedroom Royal Suites and 50 one-bedroom Executive Suites, together with 30 club rooms, 36 superior rooms and 328 deluxe rooms. Together, there is more than 5,800 square metres of conference space, incorporating two enormous ballrooms, two theatres, a huge variety of meeting rooms, a delegate restaurant and a full business centre, all with the same luxurious design ethic.


Among the myriad of RiyadhÕs other developments, the highly anticipated new south wing of the Al Faisaliah Hotel, a Rosewood Hotel, has also opened, adding 106 deluxe and luxurious rooms and suites to an already first-class hotel in a city-cen- tre location. The US$50 million expansion project includes extremely fine furnishings and highly advanced in-room communica- tion and entertainment systems, together with Al FaisaliahÕs individual signature 24-hour butler service. As part of the Al Faisaliah Centre, inspired and created by the King Faisal Foundation, the extended hotel is complemented by conference and banqueting facilities for up to 4,000. Hyatt has signed agreements with Nas- eel Holding for a Park Hyatt hotel in Riyadh, plus a Hyatt Regency and a Grand Hyatt in Jeddah, bringing the number of properties it has under development in the Kingdom up to six. The other three Hyatt hotels are part of the Jabal Omar project, which overlooks the Grand Mosque in Mecca and are still under construction. The first of the three hotels to open will be the 240-room Hyatt Regency Jeddah in the second half of 2015, to be located in the city centre close to Tahliyah Square. The hotel will also feature three restaurants, two lounges and 1,700 square metres for events and meetings, as well as a ballroom and spa. In the last quarter of 2015, Park Hyatt Riyadh is slated to open in the Olaya Dis- trict. The 275-room property will include three restaurants, a lounge, ballroom, spa and fitness centre. Finally, in early 2016, will be the 400-room Grand Hyatt Jeddah in the city centre, with 5,700 square metres of meeting and events space, as well a spa, fitness centre and three restaurants. Starwood Hotels & Resorts World- wide has signed a long-term manage- ment agreement with the Al Hokair Group to open Four Points by Sheraton Mall of Arabia in Jeddah, Four Points by Sheraton Dhahran and Aloft Riyadh. The addition of these three new prop- erties increases Starwood's portfo- lio to 13 hotels in Saudi Arabia. Scheduled to open in the middle of this year, the Four Points by Sheraton Mall of Arabia is in a prime location in Jeddah, less than three miles from the King Abdul Aziz International Airport and just five miles from the old city. It will offer 300 spacious rooms, a business centre and more than 900 square metres of state-of-the-art


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