Saudi Arabia will see a record 68 new hotels and 29,033 hotel rooms open across its major cities in 2017, with Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar and Makkah set to be the busiest areas for hospitality development.

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), the world’s largest privately-funded new city, said it had awarded contracts worth SR1.6 billion ($426 million) for its upcoming residential and industrial development projects in 2016. Located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, KAEC covers an area of 181 sq km, approximately the size of Washington DC.

The Saudi government is to hand over 120,000 residences to its citizens across the kingdom under an ambitious housing programme named Sakani, which was launched last month. The homes are part of a total of 280,000 units and financial assistance products to be allotted by the ministry, reported the Saudi Gazette.

Advanced construction technology will be vital for delivering Saudi Vision 2030 mega-projects on time and on budget, said experts ahead of this month’s Big 5 Saudi building and construction exhibition.

France’s Engie has achieved financial closing for the greenfield Fadhili independent power project (IPP) in Saudi Arabia, the most efficient cogeneration plant in the country. Total investment cost for the project is $1.

Hyflux, a Singapore-based specialist in water treatment, said its wholly-owned subsidiary Hydrochem Saudi has won a contract to deliver three seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants in the country’s western region.

Gulf Haulage Heavy Lift Company (GHHL) has pulled off a remarkable feat by transporting a massive wind turbine over a distance of 1,250 km. GHHL was awarded the contract to move the wind turbine from Jubail industrial port to Saudi Aramco’s bulk plant in Turaif in the northwestern part of the country.

Haulotte eases access on site Haulotte has supplied a range of machines for interiors and exterior jobs at the under-construction King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.