Manazel Al Harmain launches its new space share programme

Combining price convenience, location excellence and variety of options mingled with 5-star utilities and services, the Manazel Al Haramain Programme will allow the sale and trading of 5,645 housing units in Makkah and Madinah for specific periods of time at a fixed price. Each unit can be purchased by the head leaseholder in multiples of seven days for a period of 20 years and be used, subtle or given away as a gift as he wishes. Each unit has a potential maximum letting period of 48 weeks for instance in any given Hijri year with the balance used as a maintenance periods spread throughout the year. This allows the unit to be shared by as much as 48 members, thus maximising the use of space. The Programme members need not to make any prior reservation arrangements before their regular entitlement time. They just arrive and occupy the place.

Anticipated to expand and reach 12,000 units in the next three years, the programme will assist members from outside the Kingdom to obtain entry visa from all Saudi diplomatic missions abroad when their entitlements fall due.

'The fully legalised Sharia compliant programme is expected to accommodate some 260,000 Muslim families joining it. This will help attract more inward investments and eventually leading to help in providing innovative accommodation solutions in Makkah and Madinah.' said Essam Awadh, CEO and managing director of Manazel Al Haramain Company. The programme encompasses Al Shurfa residential and commercial tower in Makkah that is directly overlooking the Holy mosque and three other towers, namely Al Haram, Al Qeblah and Al Sabaq Centres, in Madinah. The four projects are currently under construction.

'The dramatic surge in residents, pilgrims and visitors of Makkah and Madinah has triggered enormous demand on facilities and housing units adjacent to the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah. This turned accommodation and property in central areas overlooking the two holy mosques at record high prices. Thus, building lands in both holy cities became the most costly in the world reaching sometimes as much as SR350,000 per square metre.' added Essam Awadh.

Studies conducted by AC Nielsen, the world's leading marketing research consultancy, revealed that over 70% of Makkah and Madinah visitors stay in the two cities for around a week - and the majority of residential unit's members invest a big fortune of money in owning their homes in both cities for short stays only. This has a negative impact on the economy and tourism, according to experts.

To maximise the cost efficiency of land use and provide new accommodation solutions to the majority of Muslims worldwide, the space share concept has been introduced to the kingdom for the first time and religiously approved by keynote Muslim scholars. It has since then proved to be the most viable and practical solution.

'We in Manazel Al Haramain have seen the opportunity and decided to devise a breakthrough programme that makes us stand out as the leaders of this newly introduced industry. Unlike all other space share solutions in the kingdom, Manazel Al Haramain Programme is not just a collection of luxurious residential units but also a comprehensive package of quality services provided by world's renowned specialised providers of space share opportunities. This totally unique experience embodies the vision and philosophy of Manazel Al-Haramain lifestyle - and provides an added value to your investment in this programme.' added Awadh.

List of Manazel Al Haramain business partners include: RCI, the global leader in vacation property exchange, AC Nielsen, the world's leading market research consultancy, Swicorp, an independent investment banking firm, Earnst & Young the global leader in professional services, a specialised call centre provider and Khabeer Financial Consultants among many others.

Awadh called upon all concerned parties to join forces to maximise benefits of space share opportunities and create a positive perception of this new industry. 'We are delighted to take part in the development of this industry through providing solutions that exceed the very expectations of Muslims around the world. We are also proud to contribute to the renaissance of real estate sector in Saudi.' he concluded.