Makkah land prices hit $133,000 per sq metre

Land prices in Makkah are skyrocketing.

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The expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah is sending land prices soaring, with a single square metre of land costing as much as $133,000, according to a local newspaper.

“This is the one place in the world where land is so expensive. Land in Makkah, especially close to the Grand Mosque, has become more precious than gold and diamonds,” Saudi real estate investor Ahmad Al-Ghamdi told Arab News.

Al-Ghamdi explained that investment cartels are competively seeking to gain a foothold in Islam’s holiest city due to the millions of Muslims who fly into Makkah every year. He added that the demand for housing from Makkah’s residents alone had increased by 54 percent.

Another investor told the newspaper that the city’s 688,000-strong population would need around 13 million square metres of land for apartment buildings to keep up with demand.

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Aside from the development at the Grand Mosque, which will provide access for more worshippers at the site, significant construction work is currently ongoing in Makkah.

The King Abdul Aziz Road will link Makkah Gate to Jebel Omar, next to the Grand Mosque. This development has also forced significant numbers of locals to leave their homes.

Last year, China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC) picked up a $1.8 billion ground and civil engineering works contact for a railway linking the port of Jeddah to Makkah and Madinah.