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As well as its Al Wasl development just outside Riyadh, Limitless plans more developments in the country. The next will be a waterfront project, says Salam. 'We have a long-term commitment to Saudi Arabia and are being selective about location.'
With so much planned activity, Saudi Arabia is likely to suffer some of the same problems Dubai and Abu Dhabi have faced - so many real estate projects that it becomes difficult to find enough people to build them. And as more projects are announced, and confidence rises, so will prices, making it important that low income families are not left behind.
But with revenues predicted to hit $13.5bn a week from oil alone if the price hits $200 a barrel, the money is there to invest in the country's infrastructure.
Add to that the low ownership levels in the country, the young population (around 70% under 30 years old) and a growing desire to own, and it is easy to see that for real estate developers, the boom is going to be huge.
Wadi Hanifa developments
- Ajmakan (roughly translated, it means wonderful place) is a mixed use development some 1.84 million square metres in size that is being developed by different companies. For its part, The Land is building 11 palaces, 500 villas of differing sizes, apartments, a shopping centre, schools, a 97-room boutique hotel and offices. The 'anchor' of the project will be Wadi Hanifa. With work expected to start in October, it will house about 12,000 people once completed.
- Another area of Ajmakan is being jointly developed by Tameer Holding, AlShuala Holding and AlArd Real Estate Development. Across 1.75 million square metres, it includes a shopping centre, hotels and houses. The first phase is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
- Limitless is building Al Wasl, a 14 million square metre, SR45bn development that will house around 200,000 people. Split over five phases, each phase will take two years to complete. Each phase will include the facilities residents need. It will include universities and schools, a large shopping mall, offices and 55,000 different types of residential unit.
- Dar Al-Arkan's Shams ArRiyadh is a five million square metre area. It will include 3,189 villas, five hyper malls, six shopping centres, commercial space and 13 schools. Forty-two percent of the development is residential, 9% is commercial with the rest for other activities or left untouched. Like Ajmakan, the Wadi Hanifa runs through its valley.
Rob Jones, Editorial Director
