Construction work is well under way on a mega $200 million hotel and apartment resort in Makkah. Located in the Rawaby Ajiad area, the Le Meridien Towers – as the complex is known – will comprise eight towers, each 20 storeys high, built over an area of 165,568 sq m. 

The project enjoys a prime site, at the entrance of the King Abdul Aziz tunnels that lead directly to the yard of Al Masjid Al Haram (Grand Mosque).
Being developed by Saudi Amjad Holdings, the complex will have 1,335 luxury rooms, suites and furnished apartments in various configurations, ranging from 35 sq m to 295 sq m in area.
The towers are aligned on a straight axis — with the larger towers (in terms of footprint area) sitting at either end of the axis – providing an awesome façade, which is 450 m long,
The buildings are similar in architectural style and each has a ground floor, a mezzanine and three levels of parking areas, above which are 15 typical floors.  Each tower also has two basement levels – the upper basement accommodating a store, laundry, kitchen and the electromechanical equipment, and the lower level having a water tank.
Construction work on the project was launched in August last year by Al Redwan General Contracting, which is responsible for the structural works.
Saudi Oger, which has the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth some SR290 million ($77.3 million), is following on behind Al Redwan with the finishing works.
Saudi Oger’s scope of works includes partitions, external shell, finishes, elevators and electrical and mechanical works. Work on the project is due for completion by December 2005.
To accommodate the two-level basement, the site has been excavated to a depth of –8 m. Given that the soil in Makkah has a good load-bearing capacity, piling was not considered necessary and the building sits on a mat foundation.
Construction work has now reached the sixth floor level and is progressing at a rapid pace.
The building frame is made of reinforced concrete; the internal partitions are Siporex, while the façades are clad with granite and aluminium, interspersed with Riyadh stone arches.  
Commenting on the project, a spokesman for Saudi Oger says: “The main challenge of the project is the logistics because of the sheer mass of the project and the fact that it is being built in a congested site.  Saudi Oger has set up a warehousing facility midway between Makkah and Jeddah, which enables it to stock the materials of the project until they are actually required on site.
The Meridien International chain will be managing the hotel. The chain recently opened the 231-room Le Meridien Makkah — also developed by Saudi Amjad Holdings — and is scheduled to open the 275-room Le Meridien Riyadh in 2005.