A vibrant new community centered around an 11-km-long man-made canal – the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia – is set to be built in Jeddah as part of a transformative, mixed-use development in the north of Jeddah.

Marafy, as it is known, will accommodate over 130,000 residents in multiple unique districts that surround the 100-m-wide navigable canal, which will connect to and extend Obhur Creek.

The canal is expected to provide a waterfront comparable in size to those of Chicago, Stockholm, Hamburg, and central London, bringing the marine environment into the heart of a historic city that has been welcoming traders, travellers, and pilgrims for centuries.

The project was launched in August this year by Roshn Group, a multi-asset class real estate developer wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), in a bid to create a new destination to the north of Jeddah and provide a new waterfront around its manmade canal. 

Marafy’s diverse waterside districts will be connected to each other and the rest of Jeddah by an intermodal transport system, boasting water taxis, bus lines, a dedicated Metro Red Line station, and a direct canal link to the King Abdulaziz International Airport.

According to Roshn, Marafy comprises multiple distinct districts each with a unique character, including its first integrated residential development in Jeddah, Al Arous (which means ‘bride’ in Arabic).  Spread over a sprawling 4-million-sq-m area, Al Arous will boast more than 18,000 residential units in addition to key amenities such as parks, pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths, restaurants, cafes, schools and mosques. It will offer 2,365 single family homes in the community’s eastern village and commercial core.  Roshn launched the sales of all residential units within Phase One of Al Arous in December last year.

Marafy – Roshn’s first fully mixed-use development – aims to breathe new life into Jeddah, creating an urban water corridor to link homes and communities with nature, commerce, and life-enhancing amenities.