MAKKAH — Contrary to predictions, the real estate movement recorded an unpredicted recuperation in Makkah Al-Mukarramah during the previous year in spite of the negative consequence on the markets because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which confirms that Makkah is an investment destination for businessmen and investors.
As per the reports and indicators of the Ministry of Justice, the cost of financial deals for real estate transactions raised during 2020 to about SR901.48 million, a rise of 4.31% over 2019, which cost SR864.24 million at that time.
The rise is about SR37.24 million in the cost of deals within one year. The figure of real estate transactions in Saudi Arabia previous year was approximately 277,924 real estate transactions, of which 9,333 deals were Makkah Al-Mukarramah’s share. The share of Makkah’s market equals 3.36% of total real estate transactions executed in all regions of the Kingdom during the last year.
This rise in the outcome of Vision 2030 initiatives, which focuses to facilitate hosting a rising number of Umrah performers visiting from abroad to touch 30 million by 2030. Work is actively underway to construct many projects in Makkah Al-Mukarramah to achieve the goals of the vision in increasing the efficiency of hospitality, along with increasing the quality of life.
From this standpoint, the private sector started their work in Makkah’s real estate market to help and enhance the goals of Vision 2030 with a number of big and valuable projects.
The most important of Makkah’s development boom is the “Thakher Makkah” project, designed and developed by some of the best in field international and local companies, which is considered as one of the biggest real estate projects present in Saudi Arabia.
The land area of the project land is 320,000 square meters, and the build-up area is about 3.4 million square meters, Thakher Makkah hosts about 85 hotel towers, 10 hotel apartment towers, and 8 residential towers, accommodating around 200,000 guests. The project is differentiated by its presence to the Holy Mosque in Makkah Al-Mukarramah by a space of not more than 1,300 meters.
Makkah actively is differentiated by the diversity of big real estate projects undergoing within it, like the Jabal Omar project, which is being constructed on an overall area of 230,000 square meters. The mixed-use project contains 40 hotel towers that host apartments, luxury residential units, international hotels, and commercial markets.
“Makkah Gate” is among the many ongoing projects in Makkah. It is the first suburban project owned by the Holy Capital’s Municipality by its investment subsidiary. The project gives an ambitious and practical vision for the development of the western suburb of Makkah, which is around 12 km from the west and it is the main gateway to enter Makkah.
The project is situated on a land area of about 8,300 square meters, and upon accomplishment, it can incorporate more than half a million people by 2022. The project contains various residential neighborhoods, a university, a medical city, a complex for government departments, museums, and a big wild park.
“Jabal Khandama” is another addition to the big development rise in Makkah. The whole built-up area is predicted at 910,000 square meters, and it is anticipated to be finished by the end of 2030. The number of floors of the project is predicted to reach about 88 floors, with a calculated height of 450 meters.
As for the “Jabal Al Sharashef” development project, which has a construction area of 1.6 million square meters, it focuses to reconfigure the urban environment of the neighborhood on the basis of comprehensive and coherent plans that contain all features of the built environment, like urban formation, housing, transportation networks, utilities, and public services. The hosting capacity is calculated to accommodate around 190,000 seasonal hotel residents and 650,000 permanent residents.
The “Kudai Towers” project has its works in progress as a part of the improvement blast. The project is about 1.7 kilometers from the Holy Mosque. Kudai Towers includes 12 hotel towers, 10 of which are planned to be 4-star hotels and comprise 30 floors, while 2 of them will be 5-star hotels that comprise 45 floors. The project’s ability is 10,000 luxury hotel rooms, and it will have 4 helipads, 70 cafés, and the biggest dome in the world sitting at the top of the project.
The new real estate boom in Makkah Al-Mukarramah added to the increment in the number of real estate offices by 32.76% during the previous year in 2020, bringing the total of specialized real estate offices operating in Makkah to 154 offices, contrasted with 116 workplaces before the end of 2019. This expansion in particular real estate benefits just confirms the recovery of land development in Makkah.