Design proposals sought for $1.3m Saudi housing project

Local and international consulting firms have been invited to submit designs for an affordable housing project planned for the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah set to spread over a 1 million square meter area. A preliminary for the development has reportedly been set at some SAR 5 billion (US$1.3 billion).

The invitation was put forth by the Aqarat Real Estate Development Company, the real estate and property development arm of Saudi-based Alesayi Group.

Aqarat hopes to convert the project in Sharm Obhur on the Red Sea coast north of Jeddah along with a second plot into a community of apartments, condominiums, small villas, recreational areas, medical centers and commercial spaces.

The design will be supervised by the Assaudia Real Estate firm, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Omar K. Al Esayi Group (OKAG).

"This is a unique project in Saudi Arabia, which complements the government's on-going drive of providing affordable housing solutions to its citizens," explained the General Manager of Assaudia, Motasim Hajaj.
 
"It reflects the social vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud." Hajaj added.

"We had tried to streamline the design process and found that there are a number of companies with high levels of design capabilities. By opening the participation regionally and internationally, we want to give the best of designs for the people of Saudi Arabia - the ultimate beneficiaries of this project," he went on to say.

© 2006 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)