Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC) has recently awarded a Malaysian team of Professional Services Development Corporation (PSDC) and Kuala Lumpur City Centre Property Berhand (KLCCPB) the project management contract to oversee the construction of the SR12 billion ($3.1 billion) Jabal Omar project on the mountainside overlooking the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

The project that will take about eight years to complete calls for the construction of an underground tunnel passing through Jabal Omar, connecting the third project known as Western Gate Road; two five-star hotels of 935 rooms, three four-star hotels having 1,210 rooms, and six three-star hotels consisting of 1,255 rooms, to be built on a covered area of 230,000 sq m; residential buildings of 35 storeys to accommodate 100,000 people; car-parking facility for over 12,000 vehicles; and includes roads, open areas, gardens, fire stations, police stations, schools, medical centres and public toilets.
Being close to the Grand Mosque, the project provides air-conditioned plazas for 100,000 worshippers and open courtyards for 120,000 persons. The total covered area of the project is 1.2 million sq m out of which 833,590 sq m is above and 367,500 sq m is below ground.
TR Hamzah & Yeang carried out the original masterplan. Rio Trading and Contracting is working on the ground levelling and earthworks package for the entire development, which is due for completion in April 2007. Beirut-based Associated Consultants Engineers (ACE) International is the design consultant.