Gulf Construction Online - Jabal Omar to ease pilgrims’ progress

Makkah & Madinah

Construction work at Jabal Omar project site ... in progress.

Jabal Omar to ease pilgrims’ progress

01 December 2009

CONSTRUCTION work is well under way on the $3.2-billion Jabal Omar development project, which occupies a prime location ahead of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

The 24-hectare (240,000 sq m) real estate project is primarily aimed at providing better housing facilities for pilgrims, and is expected to include 92 multi-storey buildings, 27 five-star and four-star hotels, parking for 12,000 vehicles, commercial centres, 4,500 shops and 3,000 showrooms, a central transport station and prayer facilities for 202,000 worshippers.

The land-levelling and infrastructure aspects of the project are scheduled for completion next year.

Saudi Oger, one of the two main contractors engaged to undertake this prestigious project, is working on the northern part of the massive development. The leading contractor’s design-and-build contract covers 120,000 sq m and involves a total built-up area of around 1.2 million sq m that will be developed at this massive site.

Commenting on the project, a company spokesman says: “The Jabal Omar project, which will reflect the deep-rooted Islamic and modern concepts, is a fully-integrated development project. It calls for the construction of five-star hotels, commercial centres, restaurants, residential towers, VIP apartments, villas, multi-storey public praying facilities, covered air-conditioned plazas, conference halls, multi-purpose rooms, banquet halls, kitchens and laundry facilities, a transportation station, a radial spine, and a large parking area.

“The glazed façades of all towers have been designed so that they allow a direct view of the Grand Mosque and facilitate praying from within the rooms.”

Saudi Oger’s scope of works also include all the required infrastructure services, roads, bridges, culverts, services tunnels, vehicular tunnels, pedestrian spines, as well as water, telephone, electricity, sewage, and stormwater drainage networks.

Apart from this landmark project, Saudi Oger’s construction arm is poised to hand over the Le Meridien Towers in Makkah. Other projects in which it is currently engaged are Phase One of King Abdullah Road, Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University for Women, and two towers in King Abdullah Financial Centre, all in Riyadh, as well as the construction of residences at the King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah.

Rising up ... the research centre at Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University for Women.

Elaborating on the university project, the spokesman says: “The project has been conceived to accommodate more than 40,000 female students on its campus. Saudi Oger is executing Package One of the project, which consists of a series of colleges, schools, administrative buildings, housing facilities, a medical research centre and a hospital, in addition to multiple support facilities spread across the campus. Its approximate built-up area is one million sq m.”
The contractor has successfully executed and handed over many projects in Saudi Arabia including the Royal Diwan and Majlis Al Shura, Al Hada Sheraton Hotel, King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre and the recently-completed state-of-the-art academic and administration buildings of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) in Thuwal, which was inaugurated on September 23.

Saudi Oger has also completed the construction of Saudi Oger Training Institute (Soti) in Riyadh at the cost of more than SR150 million ($40 million). “The institute has been built to provide training and develop the skills of Saudi youth to enable them to secure jobs in various specialisations,” says the spokesman. “Also set to open shortly is the Saudi Oger Training Institute for girls.”
Saudi Oger was set up in January 1978 as a Riyadh-based construction firm.

“The company, which has a strong financial position, adheres to high quality standards and utilises modern equipment and machinery, which has ensured that it enjoys a sound reputation in the construction, facilities management, telecommunication and utilities business,” he says. “Saudi Oger was last year selected as the best construction company in Saudi Arabia, in the Arabian Business Magazine Achievement Awards, and won the 2008 Community Advancement Award presented by US-based Developers and Builders Alliance (DBA).”

He continues: “Saudi Oger maintains a keen interest in supporting community and social activities through various initiatives and programmes, such as the World Down Syndrome Day in association with DSCA (Down Syndrome Charitable Association); Jeddah Festival; and Eid Festival in Riyadh. It is also the main contributor and supporter of The Disabled Children Association.”