His Royal Highness Prince Meshal signed the joint venture with His Excellency Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, in Jeddah, recently.
Emaar, a global property developer, will share its core competencies in integrated mega-project development by creating a vibrant community featuring luxury homes and commercial space, retail outlets, healthcare centres, educational institutions and community centres. One of the highlights of Rawabi Rumah is a proposed date palm park and green belt that will sprawl over 400 acres (1.6 million sq m) – more than the size of Hyde Park.
His Royal Highness Prince Meshal said: "Rawabi Rumah will be a path-breaking project for Saudi Arabia and reflects the vision of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz Al Saud to further strengthen the economy and enhance the welfare of the people. Rawabi Rumah will create over 25,000 direct jobs across various economic sectors."
He added: "Emaar is already an active partner in the growth of Saudi Arabia, and through the partnership we are leveraging on the company's capabilities to create world-class master-planned communities. Rawabi Rumah will be a trend-setting development and a new lifestyle destination for the Saudi people."
His Excellency Mr Alabbar said: "We are thankful to The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Sultan bin AbdulAziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Meshal Bin AbdulAziz Al Saud for their trust in Emaar. It is our honour to partner in the growth of Saudi Arabia through projects such as King Abdullah Economic City, Jeddah Gate and Al Khobar Lakes, and serviced residences at Abraj Al Bait in the Holy City of Makkah."
He added: "Saudi Arabia is a major market for Emaar, and we are privileged to be part of pioneering developments that meet the growing need for quality real esate in the Kingdom. Rawabi Rumah will be an integrated development offering all lifestyle amenities in one neighbourhood, and has the potential to create new job opportunities and support domestic industries."
Master-planning for Rawabi Rumah is in progress with several international designers working on the project. Sprawling over a total gross land area of 31 million sq m, Rawabi Rumah will allocate around 60 per cent of the master plan for residential developments including villas, town houses and apartments. Residents and visitors will have access to a diverse range of retail outlets that meet their lifestyle needs.
Apart from prime commercial space to support modern offices, hospitality projects and several leisure amenities will also be featured. Adding to the welfare of residents, the community will feature modern healthcare centres including a hospital that supports healthcare research. The hospital alone will create over 6,000 job opportunities, and will be complemented by a Medical University that can support over 5,000 students. The community will also have other educational amenities. Rawabi Rumah will also have mosques, community centres and a central park. Each mosque will be centrally located in the neighbourhood park with two Grand Mosques also being planned.
Emaar is pioneer in creating master-planned communities in the region. King Abdullah Economic City, developed by Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.E.C) is the single largest private sector project in the region, and is located on 168 million sq m of land on the Red Sea coast. Jeddah Gate and Al Khobar Lakes are integrated neighbourhoods developed by Emaar Middle East in Jeddah and Al Khobar, respectively.
Emaar has further underscored its commitment to the Saudi economy by offering 628 spacious studios and one- to three-bedroom apartments as part of the Abraj Al Bait development in the Holy City of Makkah. Overlooking the Holy Mosque, Abraj Al Bait is part of the King AbdulAziz Endowment of The Two Holy Mosques, and is an architectural landmark created to serve the faithful who come to Makkah from around the world.
