City update: Makkah

Abraj Al Bait will be the tallest tower in saudi arabia when completed next year.

After a cautious year of slow movement in a developing region, many of the Middle East’s cities have been glad to see the back of 2009. But, for Makkah, Saudi Arabia, last year was a period of progression.

The holy city kick-started the year by signing an agreement with a Chinese firm to build the US $1.78 billion (SAR6.65 billion) Haramain High-speed Railway (HHR) (popularly also known as the Makkah-Madinah link), which is the first high-speed rail network to be constructed in the Middle East.

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FEATURED COMMENT This information is probably quite old,please update this info. only the initial delay on this project was almost year b   1 Comments Read more comments »

It will connect the cities of Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah and the new King Abdullah Economic City via a 320km/h rail track. Construction is currently being undertaken by China Railway Construction Corporation, together with Al Rajhi construction group and French firm, Alstom.

In February, it was reported that 35% of the project’s capacity would be ready for use during this year’s Hajj.

“We consider it a major project in the history of transport in the Kingdom,” Saudi Railway Organisation chairman Jabara Al-Seraisry told Arab News.

“The signing ceremony is the result of great efforts made by the officials of the Saudi Railway Organisation and the Public Investment Fund, which has played a vital role in screening bidders for the project.”

In May, eight companies, including Saudi Aramco, were awarded the Makkah Award for Excellence for their contributions to the development of the province.

The winners were announced by Prince Khaled Al Faisal, governor of Makkah, at the event which was being held for the first time. The award was established in 2008 in hope of increasing competition and creativity by giving recognition in selected fields.

“It completes our development strategy in the region by encouraging outstanding work from both individuals and organisations,” said Al Faisal.

Also that month, Ahmad Zaki Saudi Arabia Company was awarded a $52 million contract to build reinforced concrete structures for Tower H1-A of the Jabal Omar development in Makkah. The work is expected to be completed by November this year and the entire mixed-use development is due for completion by Q3 of 2011.