MAKKAH, 10 April 2005 — Jabal Omar Development Company is holding talks with international construction firms specialized in management and technical review of giant projects prior to signing an agreement to manage its SR10 billion project in Makkah.
Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, chairman of the company’s constituent committee, told Arab News that he had held talks recently with a Malaysian team of experts representing major real estate contracting and management companies as part of efforts to select companies making good offers.
“Once an international company is selected we’ll reach an agreement with them to manage the project,” Faqeeh said, adding that contracts will be awarded to different firms specialized in landscaping, sewage systems, electricity and water supply, bridges and tunnels.
Faqeeh described Jabal Omar as one of the largest real estate development projects near the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Faqeeh had visited a number of countries to invite companies specialized in construction and management.
The Jabal Omar Development Company is a joint stock company under establishment. About 99 percent of real estate owners in the Jabal Omar area are shareholders in the company. “These owners have been provided with financial incentives including payment of amounts they used to receive as rents,” Faqeeh said.
Last week the second installment worth SR5 million was paid to 21 shareholders.
Abdul Rahman Fairouz, one of such shareholders, said he was owning the property along Ibrahim Khalil Street for more than 100 years. “I joined the project because of my confidence in the project and the need to develop the area around the Haram Mosque,” he said. Efforts are under way to remove some 585 buildings in the area to carry out the project.