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Limitless to develop $12b project in Saudi Arabia
Real estate news By Shakir Husain
October 11, 2007, 23:44
Dubai: Limitless, a real estate development arm of Dubai World, said it will develop a $12 billion (about Dh45 billion) urban project near Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, taking the total value of the company's planned projects in Dubai and abroad to more than $98 billion. This is the company's third major announcement within days, with the largest being the $61 billion Arabian Canal project that will transform a desert landmass in the Jebel Ali area into a busy residential and commercial area. Limitless said its Al Wasl plan in Saudi Arabia is "the first of several projects planned" in the Arab world's biggest economy.
It will be developed on a 1,411 hectare site north of Riyadh. Al Wasl is planned to create residences for more than 200,000 people. Chief executive officer Saeed Ahmad Saeed said 50,000 new homes are required every year to accommodate Riyadh's population growth. "Riyadh's population is growing by 150,000, or three per cent, every year. Around five million people live in Riyadh. In 20 years the figure will rise to eight million if the population continues to grow at current rates," he said in a statement.
Al Wasl will comprise a number of inter-connected districts, with more than 60,000 homes, as well as offices, hotels, mosques, health and educational facilities, shopping malls and sports amenities, Limitless said. Work on the project is expected to begin in mid-2008, with construction schedule spread over seven years. It will create about 2,000 hotels and one million square metres of office space. Three mosques able to accommodate 2,000 worshippers each, one hospital and a university will also be built. Seven shopping centres and other retail facilities will cover an area of 270,000 square metres, Limitless said.
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