Property investments in Jeddah are currently estimated at SR200 billion. Ongoing plans to construct a number of high-rise buildings reflect the area's current real estate uptrend. The rules and regulation within the industry have already been facilitated to allow structures as high as 350m along the Jeddah Corniche, in order to encourage more developments. The real estate sector of Jeddah is undergoing a major resurgence influenced by the government's decision to spend SR47 billion on key infrastructure developments to transform the city into a regional hub. The residential segment is a focal point of current expansion plans, with a major 500,000-unit housing project already underway to alleviate the population growth in the city. In 2020 Jeddah will need about a million homes as it evolves into a major economic city. A predominantly young population and a rapid rate of urbanization have been driving demand for non-traditional residences such as high-rise apartments. One of the landmark high-rises being built at the Jeddah corniche is Al Jawharah Tower, which is constructed by one of the regional market leaders in integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of civil contracting, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), and water & power. Drake & Scull International (DSI), as the main contractor for the 40-storey, 86,196-sq ft residential tower, discussed the advanced engineering and design technologies it is implementing on this iconic development at the "Jeddah Expansion Summit 2012" held Tuesday. "High-density vertical expansion represents a highly feasible and swift approach to meeting Saudi Arabia's huge housing demand. High rises solve the problem of limited horizontal space, distances between important facilities and services, and a rapidly depleting supply of housing stock. DSI is closely looking at how its extensive expertise can be tapped to expedite the construction of more high-rise residential towers for Jeddah and across the entire Kingdom," said Saleh Muradweij, Managing Director of Drake & Scull Construction. "With Jeddah's urban development plans in full swing, DSI intends to introduce major additions to the city's progressive skyline as it has recently been awarded a SR135 million contract to provide turnkey MEP solutions to a high-profile project in Jeddah - the Assila Towers, which consists of a 5-star hotel and serviced apartments operated by Rocco Forte Hotels (RFH) - one of the leading luxury hotel brands in Europe - in addition to the Jawharah Tower which represents our centerpiece project so far and builds on our solid track record of over 30 years in the Saudi market," Muradweij added. The company has worked on several major property projects across the Kingdom, including the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center - its biggest contract for 2011, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and the Intercontinental Hotel and Conference Center last year. DSI KSA secured in 2011 projects worth SR 2.4 billion. The company aims to further expand its service portfolio to cover all domestic industries and is currently eyeing a stronger presence in the railway and Oil and Gas sectors and considers Jeddah a priority growth area.
