Engineer Saleh Al-Hannaki, Chief Executive Officer of Alinma Investment, revealed that the company has established Alinma Real Estate Fund to develop a landmark master-planned project in the Old Airport District of Jeddah, with a total development cost of approximately SAR 4 billion.
The master plan is located on a land area of 1,383,345 square metres, at the intersection of King Abdullah Road and directly adjacent to the Haramain High-Speed Railway Station in Jeddah. Development works commenced at the end of 2016, with completion scheduled for the beginning of 2018.
The Darb Al-Haramain Master Plan features a modern and distinctive design developed by the office of Engineer Hossam Abdulkarim, in collaboration with Calthorpe (USA), Cracknell, and WSP. This consortium of specialised international and local engineering firms was engaged to ensure the delivery of a contemporary, fully integrated master plan equipped with essential services and modern amenities, providing a high quality of life for residents and visitors, and ensuring strong investment appeal.
The project represents one of the first master plans of its kind in Jeddah to adopt modern urban design concepts. Building heights start from a minimum of seven floors (services level + five typical floors + penthouse) within residential plots, rising up to sixty floors along King Abdullah Road. A new main artery, named Al-Hijaz Road, has been introduced to run through the development from west to east, featuring buildings ranging from twenty to sixty floors.
The master plan also includes a large central park and several medium-sized parks incorporating recreational and sports facilities, as well as community service amenities for residents. The landscape and open-space design was prepared by Cracknell in collaboration with Engineer Hossam Abdulkarim’s office. In addition, WSP Canada was appointed to design the project’s infrastructure, under the supervision of Engineer Hossam Abdulkarim.
Alinma Investment appointed the Arab Center for Engineering Consultations to supervise the design and execution of the master plan. The center is one of the leading engineering consultancy firms in Saudi Arabia, with nearly thirty years of experience in providing design, consultancy, and supervision services for major projects across the Kingdom.
Furthermore, Alinma Investment appointed Saqifat Al Safa Real Estate Development and Management to undertake the development and marketing of the master plan. Saqifat Al Safa is well known for its distinguished projects developed or co-developed within Saudi Arabia, as well as high-profile projects it has marketed both locally and internationally over the past twenty years.
It is worth noting that construction works for the master plan officially commenced in December 2016, and marketing of the project is expected to begin in early the coming year. The Darb Al-Haramain Master Plan is being developed within the Special Development Zone of Jeddah’s Old Airport area.
The location will benefit from an advanced road network providing seamless accessibility to and from the site. In addition, the planned Jeddah Metro route will pass through Al-Hijaz Road, connecting directly to the adjacent Haramain Railway Station, which is expected to generate significant commercial and tourism activity in the area.
The Al-Sulaimaniyah Main Station in Jeddah is considered the most important of the five Haramain Railway stations, serving as the primary hub for the departure and return of the large volume of passengers. This creates an urgent demand for residential developments, hotels, and various commercial projects. Hotel room demand alone is expected to reach 17,000 rooms within the first five years of Haramain Railway operations.
More than 1.5 million visitors, pilgrims, and Umrah performers are expected to pass through the Darb Al-Haramain projects dedicated to hotel, residential, and commercial uses. Residents of the master plan will benefit from surrounding services, most notably the Haramain Railway Station, King Abdulaziz University and its affiliated University Hospital, as well as major shopping malls located directly adjacent to the site.
In addition, residents will enjoy fast and convenient transportation via the Haramain Railway, reaching Makkah in approximately 21 minutes and Madinah in about one and a half hours, enabling residents of the Darb Al-Haramain Project to visit the Two Holy Mosques on a daily basis with exceptional ease and convenience.