During the Cityscape Global Exhibition, the world’s largest real estate expo, Thakher Makkah has announced the launch of Radisson Hotel & Residences, a property valuing over $53 million (SAR200 million), and is considered the third launch by the developer as it has also obtained the marketing permit for the newly launched hotel.
Additionally, Dhakher Makkah has recently announced land sales with a value exceeding $400 million (SAR1.5 billion) for the construction of three hotel residential towers.
Upon completion, projected to be in 2033, Thakher Makkah will host more than 1.6 million visitors and pilgrims in its range of hospitality options, which include hotels, residences, and other commercial accommodations. This allows it to be directly aligned with Saudi Arabia’s visionary objective to host 30 million Umrah performers and 6 million pilgrims by 2030.
In another exclusive interview with Construction Week Saudi, the company’s CEO, Eng. Abdulaziz AlAboudi, revealed that the project came as a result of the developer’s desire to ‘upgrade’ the liveability and appeal of the city for the locals.
He said: “We wanted to create a unique product that adds value to the region of Makkah, as it rightly deserves, and not just construct commercial towers and buildings. We understood that Makkah needs a new standard of living system that begins with a qualitative transformation to improve the people’s quality of life, and that is why we focused on connectivity and attraction as the main factors in our concept.”
One of the aims of the Thakher development is to enhance the services provided to pilgrims and Umrah performers to enrich their experience at Makkah. AlAboudi highlighted that the project has recently achieved a direct access to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, a facility that has never been provided before; today, visitors can reach the Holy Masjid (Haram) within only one hour. Furthermore, the company is also finalising design plans that will put the Holy Masjid within walking distance from the development.
The value of Thakher Makkah is estimated to exceed $7.2 billion (SAR27 billion), and as the company comes close to delivering its first phase, the expected completion date for the second phase has been disclosed to be in 2024. At the current stage, the developer has spent approximately $1.3 billion (SAR5 billion) on the project, 70% of which allocated for infrastructural works and stone-cutting operations that prepare the land for the planned connectivity that will be used by the Thakher Development Company and its investors for the sake of building a new and self-sufficient modern city.
“While we are focusing on infrastructure in the first phase of the project, we have also managed to erect some buildings and started operating a couple of institutions, putting together the aspects of liveability; we have already established trading businesses, too.”
Eng. AlAboudi explained that some of the challenges for the project were not only geographical but also seasonal. He said: “For any developer in Makkah, due to its geography, as well as cultural and religious significance, there’s a specific difficulty that’s related to its topography and its seasons, such Ramadan and Hajj seasons, where the whole pattern of living becomes different. So, as a developer, you have to operate around these challenges.” As an example, he emphasised how developers must always take appropriate measures not to damage the purity and flow of the Zamzam water streams that run underground.
Thakher Makkah stated that it is adopting international standards and practices to make the city-project environmentally friendly, and for this it has reused cut rocks and employed energy-efficient materials. According to the company, such implementations will reduce the costs of building units locally and help counter the high costs that are associated with construction, ensuring reasonable prices, reducing construction time, and providing job opportunities for young generations.