An SR3 billion mega project, one of the biggest Saudi real estate constructions in Saudi Arabia, was launched in Riyadh on Sunday. The mega project, 'Durrat Al-Riyadh,' was officially launched by Dallah Albaraka after receiving the green signal from the municipality.
The project is in a suburb of the capital in an area within a 20-minute-drive from the city centre. "It will be the first community of its kind in the capital," explained Hamza Al Attas of Dallah Albaraka, the mega project's owner. "Only home owners or their visitors will be allowed to enter." The total area of the project covers 3.2 million square metres. Nearly 800 housing units will be available for sale. "It will have everything from a five-star hotel to fitness centres, tennis courts, a mall, mosques, and SPA centres," Al Attas said. "Owners do not even have to worry about sending their children out of the Durrah, because kindergarten and elementary schools will also be built in the premises," he added. Contrary to the idea of most mega-real estate projects in the Kingdom, Dallah Albaraka seeks to provide 70 per cent of the real estate's landscape with grass and trees, while the remaining 30 per cent will be housing units. Among the concepts taken into consideration for the project is playgrounds for youngsters. According to Al-Attas, Dallah Albaraka intends to start selling title deeds for the project's housing units from April 1. The project will be completed for owners to live in by the end of 2008. Abdullah Saleh Kamel, CEO of Dallah Albaraka, described the project as "a world class suburb". He said Durrat Al Riyadh would adopt new and unprecedented investment and marketing concepts. "Launching Durrat Al Riyadh is an important development in the real estate market in Saudi Arabia. I believe it will be a step beyond the traditional approaches that are being applied for many years, without any reformulation," Kamel said. He said that after sketches of the project had been improved by the Riyadh Municipality, excavation and asphalting works were completed. He added that Durrat Al Riyadh was an opportunity for people "to move beyond the traditional styles of housing and to enjoy new and unprecedented benefits in the real estate investment." "The project satisfies the need of owners to own a residential unit that merges peacefulness with top services available in modern cities," he said.