Covering an area of 10,000 square meters, the new facility named Bait Al-Tijara (Business House) will be located in the Takhassussi residential district, an official statement said, adding that the project would be completed within 14 months.

Talal Abdul Wahab Mirza, chairman of MCCI, said the new headquarters would stand out as a cultural landmark in the city, providing greater facilities for the business community.

“We have decided to construct the building as part of the chamber’s 10-point development plan,” the chairman said, adding that it would serve the trade, industrial and service sectors and make use of modern technology.

“We have designed the new building taking into consideration the ideas and proposals of businessmen and women and their requirements,” he said.

The five-floor high-tech building will have seven conference halls for various activities including a large hall to conduct conferences and forums and another for staging exhibitions of products and services. The building will accommodate the businessmen’s club and a training institute.

Mazen Fouad Tunisi, deputy chairman, said the new building would be called Bait Al-Tijara where all electronic services would be made available. It will also apply advanced administrative tools. “The building will have a permanent exhibition center,” he added.

Makkah, which attracts millions of Muslim pilgrims from all over the world every year, has become a major business center. A large number of real estate projects worth more than SR100 billion are under construction in the city, including the new Haram expansion ordered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.