Kinan International Real Estate Development, Savola Group and Ebela Company (a subsidiary of Saudi Binladin Group) concluded a landmark SR2.4 billion joint venture that will turn a 3 million square meter land into a residential property. The agreement was singed by Dr. Sami Baroum, managing director of Savola Group; Saleh Binladin, representing Ebela Company and Engineer Nidal Jamjoom, CEO of Kinan. The signatories said they were delighted to be part of such a mammoth project, which will be targeting the housing needs of the potentially profitable middle-income sector. Dr. Baroum said: “We see a lot of potential in the real estate sector, and that is why our group has made a substantial investment to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by the industry. We have strong confidence in Kinan, which has proved its capability in the development and management of a range of commercial centers across the Kingdom.” Saleh Binladin said: “The residential development market in Saudi Arabia is a very promising market especially for the middle-income sector, where demand goes very far beyond supply, therefore, we were very interested in entering into this partnership with Kinan and Savola Group.” Engineer Jamjoom said: “This is the first residential project for Kinan, and we are looking forward to be one of the main developers of housing projects for middle-income sector. The company's entry into the residential sector comes after careful studies and owning good sites suitable for such projects.” The group has put together a team of local and international companies specializing in the development, design and construction of mega residential projects to ensure the success of the property venture. A blueprint has already been approved by all partners and the project will be completed over a period of six years, the first phase will be completed in two years. “Upon completion, the project will provide more than 8000 residential units of various sizes and prices, including apartments, villas and duplexes. We plan to start selling the units by the end of this year after taking the necessary permits from the authorities,” Jamjoom added. Kinan is a closed joint stock company with a capital of SR1.7 billion. Its main stockholders include Savola Group, Jareer for Commercial Investments Co., Al-Qodus Al-Arabiya Trading Company and Albilad Bank. The company employs more than 100 employees, and over the past years developed a range of commercial centers in seven cities in Saudi Arabia with investment of more than SR1.8 billion. Kinan received “Best Real Estate Developer” award in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and 2006. Saudi Binladin Group was founded in 1931, and is one of the leading companies in the area of contracting and carried out many large and vital projects in Saudi Arabia and other countries. Its activities include architectural and interior designing, and civil, marine, mechanical, electrical engineering, general contracting and projects management, development and maintenance of real estate projects and others. Savola Group is a leading company in Saudi Arabia and placed 13th in the list of largest companies in Saudi Arabia. Its products and activities have a significant presence in the Middle East and a number of countries in North Africa and East Asia and beyond. It has a capital of SR.5 billion. Its products include edible oils, sugar, food, retail, real estates and plastics. As a result its expansion, its sales in 2008 increased by 33 percent to SR13.8 billion compared to SR10.4 billion in 2007. __
