Under a SR6.1 billion ($1.63 billion) contract awarded in January this year, Saudi Oger has commenced work on the massive Jabal Omar Development Project in Makkah.
The leading contracting firm will be responsible for the development of the northern part of the mega project – a total built-up area of around 1 million sq m over a 120,000 sq m area – which is expected to be completed over a period of 36 months.
The contract entails development of the design concept of the buildings and towers as well as the infrastructure, which comprises a podium and 15 towers, hotels and timeshare residences along with the main mosque, parking areas, landscaping, commercial shops and centres and supporting roads, bridges and supporting facilities.
"Saudi Oger has consistently played a key role in the infrastructure development of Saudi Arabia. This contract will help us to be part of one of the largest development projects in the region, and share our world-class engineering and construction practices," says Ayman Rafic Hariri of Saudi Oger.
The deal was awarded by Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC), the owner and developer of Jabal Omar Development Project, which is located in downtown Makkah, in the Sirat Mountains, 80 km inland from the Red Sea coast.
The entire development occupies a prime 230,000 sq m site opposite and west of the Haram, which stands in the centre of Wadi Ibrahim (Ibrahim valley) at 217 m above sea level. It involves a total built-up area of 1.98 million sq m and will include commercial centres and towers ranging from 24 to 42 storeys, with four to five basement levels, 3.9 m high each. The hotels and housing units will accommodate 35,000 people during normal tourist seasons and in excess of 150,000 people during the Ramadan and Hajj period. A prayer area will be able to hold in excess of 60,000 worshippers within the central Musallah and more than 100,000 in the individual buildings and other open areas. Parking facilities for a total of 9,400 cars and 250 buses will be provided within common areas and in buildings. Infrastructural works include 44,200 sq m of roads, 43,000 sq m of walkways, 3,600 sq m of bridges and 19,000 sq m of vehicular tunnels, a 2.2 km-long utility tunnel, public utilities and services, in addition to all the features of an intelligent city.
Saudi Oger's scope of works on the development includes a 43-storey twin-tower hotel complex; nine mixed-use towers, ranging in height from 20 to 27 storeys; the Mussallah; four residential buildings; pedestrian passages; as well as vehicular tunnels and bridges.
"Completing the design and construction of a project of this scale in three years is one of the most challenging aspects of the project," says Mazen Fayed, head of corporate communications, Saudi Oger. "Some of the most striking features of our project are the exceptional Mussallah, the 180-m-high twin towers, the huge boulevard designed to allow a flow of 110,000 pedestrians per hour, and the 50-m high retaining wall. All this has to be implemented in close proximity to the holy Haram – with the additional work limitations posed during the Ramadan and Hajj seasons."
"Saudi Oger's wealth of experience and resources are its most powerful tools in tackling and meeting the challenges posed by any project regardless of size," he adds.
Established in 1978, Saudi Oger is a private company, wholly owned by the Rafic Hariri family, with its headquarters in Riyadh. It has grown into a multi-company and multi-divisional organisation with subsidiaries and affiliates in the Saudi Arabia and abroad.
Apart from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) (see separate article) and Jabal Omar Development Project, the construction major is also working on the first phase of a project to develop King Abdullah Road in Riyadh. The SR698 million project is aimed at expanding the main road in the capital city and includes the construction of three lanes in the main road apart from service roads.
"A 10-m lane will be incorporated in the centre for establishing railway tracks in the future for operating electric trains. It also includes three 185-m tunnels and a closed tunnel with a length of 700 m as well as construction of public utility facilities such as water, electricity, sewage and rainwater drainage networks," says Abdullatif Al Sheikh, head of the project and planning centre at Riyadh Development Authority.
The project would also focus on the requirements of pedestrians and shoppers in the area. There will be extensive landscaping on both sides of the road and as well as ample space along the sides for car-parking and pedestrians. A state-of-the-art traffic management system will also be put in place to control and manage traffic flows.
