TEN new hotel towers will be launched in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, next year as part of a major development near the Grand Mosque that will aim to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims to the city.

Makkah-based Jabal Omar Development Company (Jomar) intends to open 10 hotel towers in the city on a 2.2-million-sq-m area that is part of the site that has been designed to include 38 hotel towers and the country’s largest shopping mall, the company’s executive general director said.

Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels Corp (H), Blackstone Group’s Hilton Hotels and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s Sheraton unit will manage properties there, Sameer Al Quraishi said.

The 38 hotels under construction will be managed by 28 companies and will add 13,500 rooms to Makkah’s hospitality industry when they’re completed in five years.

According to Al Quraishi, the project is being developed in five phases at a cost of SR20 billion ($5.3 billion). “Jabal Omar is looking at ways to finance the final two stages of development after it funded previous phases through bank and government loans in addition to a capital increase. We will either issue bonds or borrow from banks, although we definitely prefer bonds,” he said.

The contract for construction of the Makkah project’s third phase, which includes two towers – Makkah Gate and a mall – will be awarded soon, he said. “About 17 companies, mostly from the UAE, are bidding for the work,” he added.
The first phase of the project, which includes 10 towers, is being built by Nesma & Partners, a Saudi Arabian firm. Baytur Construction Company and Azmeel Contracting and Construction Corporation won the contract for the second phase, which includes four towers. Designs for the fourth and five phases are being drawn and are expected to be complete in six months, Al Quraishi said.