Cityscape, opened by Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed, unveiled prime opportunities related to Jeddah's redevelopment initiatives, at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events. Over 100 local and international property investors, developers and service-driven firms displayed relevant projects and services endorsed by the Ministry of Commerce and supported by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Particularly in focus were several projects that are either currently under way or in advanced stages of planning to achieve an optimal balance among the infrastructure components of Jeddah, the principal entry point to the holy cities. A comprehensive 20-year redevelopment program involving initiatives such as the enhancement of the Khozama and Ruwais areas and the rehabilitation of the city's central and historic districts is in place. Many of the new developments are mega projects such as the SR99.75 billion King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, near Jeddah, and the SR42 billion Jeddah Hills.

"Mega projects in Jeddah will see the city and its infrastructure transformed across the board during the next two decades, creating an enormous range of partnership opportunities," said Tareq Telmesani, CEO of Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC), a private company set up by Jeddah Municipality to spearhead the city's regeneration projects. Jeddah will account for a large proportion of the Kingdom's SR1 trillion worth of ongoing property developments.

Jeddah’s infrastructure is being overhauled to better accommodate pilgrims, accelerate business growth, and support a population density that is rising at a rate of 20 to 28 percent each year. Over the past 60 years, the city's population has increased 100 times, with its size expanding 1,000-fold. Its growth from a traditional port to a sprawling urban city requires more balanced development among its districts, speakers said.

“Jeddah will need to build around 5 million housing units to keep pace with housing demand over the next two decades. The city needs to redirect its infrastructure growth plans to sustain its growth, and this will require new and substantial investments. Forums such as Cityscape Jeddah are vital for developers, investors and other stakeholders to discuss the right strategies to maintain Jeddah's role as a national gateway. Industry and government need to continue to engage in more dialogue to harmonize their respective activities with Jeddah's development strategies," said Deep Marwaha, director of Cityscape Jeddah.

Cityscape also featured the annual Saudi Arabia Real Estate Investment and Development Conference, which was held under the theme "Transparency, Investment Models and Future Partnerships." This year's conference adopted a more interactive format to accommodate more Q&A sessions, expert consultations and information exchange. More than three-dozen CEO-level speakers discussed key industry issues, while over 200 senior-level delegates attended 12 special panel sessions.

The event also featured the 2nd Cityscape Awards for Real Estate in Saudi Arabia given to top performers in the local property sector. New real estate projects were the big winners during an awards ceremony.

Under the development category, winners included Alandalus Property Company's Hayat Mall in the Commercial and Retail Project award and the Jeddah Development and Regeneration Company's Khozam Palace regeneration project for Best Commercial and Retail Project (Future). Also, Emaar's Jeddah Gate beat off the competition to take the Residential Project prize (Future), and Esmeralda Village at KAEC by Emaar, the Economic City, Best Waterfront Development (Future). Jeddah Gate by Emaar Middle East won the Best Urban design & Master Planning Award.

"This year's awards were dominated by future projects, affirming the huge potential of Saudi Arabia's property market," added Marwaha.