JEDDAH, 7 July 2003 — A new SR325 million investment will transform the Kudai area of Makkah. A building consisting of three residential towers and two hotels is planned. The project is part of the Makkah International Market and is located in front of the Kudai Tunnel which is 1,200 meters from the Holy Haram.
The project contract was signed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jeddah on Saturday. The signatories were Mohamed ibn Issa Al-Jaber, chairman and chief executive officer of MBI International & Partners, and Mohamed A. Al-Khereiji, chairman of the Al-Khereiji Group, on behalf of Makkah Real Estate Development Company, and engineer-contractor Zuhier A. Zahran of Zuhier Z. Zahran and Company. Al-Jaber told a press conference that the 20-floor residential complex would include 504 apartments and an investment of SR175 million. He described the project as “unique” in the real estate market of the holy city. The construction will be on a 6,000 square meter land with precast elevation and split duct air-conditioning. The complex will feature 13 elevators. All corridors will have ceramic tiles and marble entrances and the apartments will be offered to the public. Each apartment consists of two bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms and a kitchen and has been “reasonably” priced at SR320,000. Units will be shown on a plan so that buyers can suggest adjustments or alterations before they are built.
A separate company, Rikaz, will market the residential units all over the Kingdom. One of the services offered by this company will be to rent the units as the investor may wish. The financial advisor for the project is Financial Transaction House (FTH); its chief executive officer is Faisal Hamza Al-Sairafi.