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Al Hokair Land ... incorporates European, Far Eastern, American and African themes.
With its flagship amusement park Al Hokair Land set for a soft opening next month in Riyadh, the Al Hokair Group is pressing ahead with plans to develop leisure facilities in most of the major cities of Saudi Arabia.
The M Al Hokair and Sons Group - which specialises in amusement parks, water-parks, wave-pools, family fun centres, tourism, luxury apartments and hotels - is currently developing 10 centres, adding to its network of 60 entertainment centres within the Kingdom.
These include a number of hotels operating under the banner of international chains like Holiday Inn and Golden Tulip, and fast food chains such as Perky's Pizza and A&W (all American food).
''Hitherto, the Al Hokair group has been concentrating on the big cities of Saudi Arabia, namely Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam,'' says Jean Habre, head of projects department. ''The group has now set its sights on secondary cities such as Buraidah, Tabuk, Jizan and Yanbu and is introducing a new generation of projects which include a combination of retail shops, anchor stores, family entertainment centres, food courts and lodging facilities.''
The group launched work early this year on two recreational and commercial centres in Tabuk and Buraidah and its is now looking at starting work on a beach resort in Jizan early next year.
Al Hokair Centre, Tabuk
Site preparation and civil works started in January this year on the Al Hokair Centre in Tabuk.
The project involves the development of a recreational and commercial centre and has been designed by Al Hokair group's projects department, after studying the requirements of the area.
The complex occupies a footprint of 21,000 sq m on a 64,000 sq m site located on Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Road, the main commercial street in the city. The remaining area will have parking lots, landscaping and hardscaping, water features and shaded areas.
The project is estimated to cost $25 million and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2003.
The Tabuk Al Hokair Centre will include:
Most of the buildings will be steel structures with roofing comprising of sandwich panels. The elevations will be clad in precast concrete, Habre says. The main contractor for the project is Bassam Qaddour Establishment.
Al Hokair Centre, Buraidah
The estimated $30 million Al Hokair Centre in Buraidah is expected to be a larger version of the one in Tabuk, to meet the needs of the local population.
The recreational and commercial centre is being built on a 150,000 sq m plot on Prince Abdullah Street. The actual complex covers an area of 35,000 sq m.
In addition to the facilities that will be available at the Tabuk project, the Al Hokair Centre in Buraidah also includes:
Work on the project started last February and is due to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2004. Bassam Qaddour Establishment is the main contractor for this project as well.
Beach Resort, Jizan
Design work is in progress on the estimated $21 million beach resort which will offer recreational facilities and commercial facilities over a 500,000 sq m site in Jizan.
Construction work on the project is earmarked to start in January next year for completion by December 2004.
The project will be implemented in three phases, with the first phase involving the construction of the beach resort, the second phase the recreational facilities and the commercial facilities in the final phase.
The beach resort will have a central building/club house, a social club, restaurants, lodging facilities consisting of a hotel with 68 suites, 36 three-bedroom, 60 two-bedroom, and 40 one-bedroom bungalows, diving centres, marina for fishing boats, seafood restaurants and an aquarium.
The recreational facilities include 109 chalets, each having its own private pools, a health club and equestrian club, a mini-zoo, and a traditional suq for handicrafts.
The commercial facilities will comprise a water park and playground, a mall with an indoor family entertainment centre and food court, eight specialised restaurants and two multipurpose halls.
Also included as part of the development are the infrastructure buildings and facilities such as staff accommodation to support all the phases, maintenance buildings, water tanks, electrical room and a reverse osmosis plant for water recycling and treatment.
Al Hokair Land
The Al Hokair Land, which is nearing completion in Riyadh, has been built at a cost in excess of $25 million. It incorporates European, Far Eastern, American and African themes with rides, amusement centres, buildings and landscaping over a 50,000 sq m area.
Each themed area has a range of carefully selected food and beverage and retail outlets. Some of the major attractions of Al Hokair Land include:
The plaza, which has a spectacular art deco design, includes retail and food and beverage outlets, video games, community seating, party halls and a centrepiece two-level carousel.
The outdoor facilities spread over approximately 40 per cent of the area of the entire development while the covered facilities account for 10 per cent of the space. The theme park has parking facilities for around 300 cars.
The main contractor on the project is Al Swayeh Contracting.
