Prince Abdulaziz Bin Ayyaf Al-Miqrin, Mayor of Riyadh, opened here Sunday the 13th Edition of the Riyadh Exhibition for Real Estate and Architecture Development 2010 at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center. About 62 leading real estate companies are participating in the four-day event, organized by Ramtan Expo for Conferences. The exhibition has attracted regional and international participants, as the real estate market in the Kingdom has remained resilient and stable despite the global economic downturn. This has prompted analysts to conclude that the long-term outlook for the Kingdom's real estate sector remained extremely positive. Abdulrahman Al-Jeraisy, President of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and senior officials from the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with CEOs from real estate companies and banks, investors and representatives from leading companies attended the inauguration of the exhibition. Prince Abdulaziz gave away awards to real estate companies for their contribution to the Kingdom's real estate development. Injaz Development Company bagged the best developer award for Al-Marina Project, a multi-purpose seafront project covering an area of over 3.3 million sq. meters in Dammam. Al-Marina Project is intended for tourism development, entertainment and commercial activity in the Eastern Province, as the site is located in the east of Dammam, with waterfront and a lagoon. According to experts present at the occasion, Saudi Arabia's real estate sector has emerged as an excellent long-term investment destination for residential properties. They said that recent statistics revealed that 40 percent of the country's population is under the age of 14, which will increase the demand for residential properties. The event served as the launching pad for a number of companies to announce new real estate projects and other expansion plans. The Injaz Development Company announced Al-Gamra Real Estate Project, located in an area dubbed as Saudi Arabia's ‘New Riyadh'. Al-Gamra Project is being built on 2.5 million sq. meters of master-developed, ready-to-build housing plots designed to be a natural extension of Riyadh's northern suburb. “With an eye on the long-term property demand in the country, new residential development projects are now underway in the north of Riyadh, said Omar Al-Kadi, President and Managing Director of Injaz Development Company. He said Cluster 7 of Al-Gamra Project has already been sold out with 60 percent of the deeds already transferred. Encouraged by the award for best developer company, Al-Kadi announced the launch of Cluster 9 at the inauguration of the real estate exhibition. “The new Al-Gamra Project has many distinguishing factors that make it a leading investment destination in north Riyadh,” he said. One of the most important factors is the road network adjacent to the project that includes Prince Salman Road, which has substantially contributed to the growth of the real estate sector in that area, he said. A number of prominent projects are being developed in the north of the city that play a major role while offering massive growth potential and the ability to attract investments from local, regional and international companies, he said. Another very important factor that boosts the strategic importance of Al-Gamra is its location between the north highway and King Fahd Road with Abu Bakr Al-Siddique Road to the north. The project is also located near leading destinations and landmarks in Riyadh, including King Khaled Airport, Princess Noura University, Al-Imam University, Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and the Special Security Force. “The fact that its land level is higher than the surrounding area provides additional value to investors,” Al-Kadi said. The company's services include identification and acquisition of potential real estate investments, internal and third-party project development, property marketing, and sales support, such as financing through local banks.
