JEDDAH: The Jeddah Municipality has signed a memorandum of understanding with an alliance of local and international development companies to become the sole developer of the Central Jeddah Project, which aims at developing and revitalizing a six-million-square-meter area in the center of the city, including its historical part.
The project, according to the Jeddah mayor, is the first of its kind in terms of size and partnership between the private and public sectors.
One of the major partners in the project is the municipality-owned Jeddah Company for Construction and Urban Development, which is currently working on the development of Khozam and Al-Nuzlah areas.
Under the new agreement, the Central Jeddah Alliance will build a modern, integrated infrastructure along a 16-km-long waterfront stretch in a special development zone. The work includes cleaning up Arbaeen and Amanah lagoons.
The project also aims to revive the architectural and social heritage of Jeddah's historic downtown in line with preservation efforts and through seamless incorporation of new construction offering modern facilities and better infrastructure. Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakeeh said the mega project would be the first of several development projects to be taken up through cooperation between the private and public sectors.
"The government is very keen on forging strategic partnerships with the private sector to stimulate the economy and create jobs for citizens," he said.
He said that work on the project's detailed plans would begin immediately after forming the project-owning company within a specific schedule.
The project was conceived eight years ago by the late engineer, Abdul Aziz Kamel, founder of Construction Development Company Ltd. (Saudi Arabia), who had forged alliances with Solidere International Ltd. (United Arab Emirates), Siraj Capital (Saudi Arabia), Commercial Real Estate Company (Kuwait), and Venture Capital Bank (Bahrain) for the project.
The southern and central parts of the city have been the main concern of development by the government and the private sector. The Jeddah Municipality has signed many small and big development projects to eliminate random districts and to revitalize the old parts of the city.
By Hasan Hatrash
© Arab News 2008
