A multi-billion riyal residential and development project is to be constructed in the city of Mecca, Saudi Gazette reported.
Muhammad Al Quwaihes, mayor of Mecca, signed an agreement with Aknaf Al Khaleej Company on Tuesday to establish an integrated residential neighbourhood as part of the Makkah Gate project.
The massive residential project will be implemented on a total area covering 580,000 square metres on a strategic location along the Mecca-Jeddah Expressway.
The project will be located 18km from the Grand Mosque in Mecca and 5km from the Qur’an Gate.
Al Quwaihes, chairman of the board of Al Balad Al Amin Development and Urban Regeneration Company, said that there would be separate residential areas for families and bachelors at the township.
It is the project of Makkah Gate Company, which is a non-profit firm owned by Al Balad Al Amin Co, the investment arm of Mecca Mayoralty.
The township also includes commercial zones, a big garden and mosque, international school for all phases of education, health centre, sports clubs for men and women, tennis courts, artificial lagoons, and solar and sewage plants.
The SAR60 billion Makkah Gate housing scheme, which will be a natural extension of Mecca, is designed to accommodate about 800,000 people when it is completed in 15 years.
Prince Khaled Al Faisal, governor of Mecca and adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, laid the foundation stone for the first project of the Makkah Gate housing scheme in 2012.
The scheme is designed as part of a comprehensive strategy to develop the region with the participation of both public and private sectors.