A 2,000-unit housing project will be built on the outskirts of Jeddah for middle-income earners, it was revealed at the Deco Fair exhibition recently.

This is part of $5.6 billion worth of commercial real estate projects to be completed in Saudi Arabia this year. The Saudi government is committing $624 billion to construction projects until 2020 as part of its National Investment Program.

The Kingdom’s spending on furniture items is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7 percent over the next five years.

Basim Makkah, a consultant at Masharif Project, told Arab News at the Deco Fair that the complex would be largely for Saudis seeking their own homes. The project is on 1 million square meter lot, he said.

The average price for a villa is SR1.39 million, with an installment plan available. Buyers have to have a deposit of SR100,000, and then when the contract is signed, pay 20 percent of the total cost of the house.

He said 231 units of the project’s first phase has been sold, with owners already living there. “Phase two will have more than 100 units, which is sold out already. However, the owners will receive them in six to eight months. Phase three, which is almost 40 percent complete, will see owners get their houses in 18 months,” he said.

Makkah said that the project would be like a complete city with schools, shopping malls, mosques and other facilities. A total of 30 percent of the project would be green areas, with four schools, five mosques, government buildings, a shopping mall and clinics, he said.

None of the units would be for rent because the government wants Saudis to own their homes, he said. He said residents take an average 30 minutes to travel to the city.

Foreigners would also be allowed to buy if they get permission from the government, he said. There are Arabic, Spanish, Italian and modern designs for owners, he said.