SAUDI Arabia is set to launch a SR55-billion ($14 billion) project for pilgrims in Madinah, which is expected to be the largest of its kind in the country.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the Ministry of Finance will launch the project, which will consist of office and residential towers, Al Madinah daily reported.

The project will be executed in two phases. The first phase, estimated to cost SR12 billion ($3.19 billion), will comprise the infrastructure works while the second phase will see the construction of the towers, work on which will begin before the upcoming Haj.

The project, expected to be completed in two years, will be built over an area of more than 1.6 million sq m south of the Prophet’s Mosque, and will be halfway between the Prophet’s Mosque and Al Meeqat and Quba mosques.

It will consist of 20 office towers and 80 residential towers, all more than 30 storeys high. The residential towers will include 76 four- and five-star hotels offering around 40,000 rooms.

The office towers will house Haj delegates, companies, travel agencies, medical delegates and a number of other dedicated services.

These towers will accommodate around 31,000 employees and will have mosques with a capacity of 15,000 worshippers. The project will include a monorail station, restaurants and shops, a 400-bed hospital and catering facilities.

In addition, it will feature a luggage transportation station where pilgrims and visitors can hand over their luggage to be transported directly to their home countries.