Jeddah International Urban Development and Real Estate Investment ends with major projects launched and strategic agreements inked

Organized by IIR Middle East and National Exhibitions Company (NEC) for the third year in a row, Cityscape Jeddah received a record number of participants for the event's three-day duration.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of this year's event and happy to see that the participants utilized the full potential of Cityscape Jeddah's unique portfolio of exhibition, conference and awards," said Deep Marwaha, Group Director of Cityscape Saudi Arabia.

"Once again the event proved to be the Kingdom's key gathering point for industry decision makers, international investors, developers, government and investment authorities, leading architects, designers, consultants and all senior professionals involved in the design and construction of real estate projects. However, Cityscape Jeddah 2011 was different to the two preceding years in that many of the projects previously displayed have now materialized and many exhibitors used Cityscape Jeddah for promotion of completed projects. Also, this year a number of key strategic alliances were formed and we witnessed many exciting announcements."

Among the companies that are meeting the demand for residential development, especially for affordable housing, is Ewaan Global Residential Company.

"Cityscape is the most important event for us as we benefit from the exposure and the credibility of the event," said Eng. Fahad Mohammad Al Mutawa, Chief Executive Officer at Ewaan Global Residential Company.

"The success of the event shows how the Saudi real estate market has developed in recent times. Four year's back Saudi companies used to go to Dubai to pitch for investors. Now - and Cityscape has played a prominant role in this - international and regional investors come to Saudi Arabia to seek opportunities."

"Our relationship with Cityscape goes back to 2008 and we are proud to the founding sponsor for Cityscape Jeddah in 2009 and 2011," said Hassan Al-Najjar, Advertising Manager at Ewaan Global Residential Company.

"This year we used the event as a platform to position our brand and to launch sales for Al Fareeda Residential Project after acquiring our off-plan sales permit from Ministry of Commerce. The full project is scheduled to be completed within the next 24-30 months."

Khaled Al-Aboodi CEO & General Manager of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank Group, and Eng. Fahad Al Mutawa, CEO of Ewaan, chose Cityscape Jeddah as the venue to sign a financing agreement for all future projects of Ewaan Global Residential Company.

The company also signed an MOU with Dar Al-Tamleek during the event.

An annual highlight of the event is the Cityscape Awards for Real Estate in Saudi Arabia, sponsored this year by Samsung, which were announced on the first night.

The winners are chosen by a panel of eminent industry professionals and this year the Best Residential Project Award (Future) went to Rayadah Investment Company for their project Vertical Medina, while Sumou Real Estate Development Company won the Best Urban Design and Master Planning Award for Bawabat Makkah, and Injaz Development Company won the award for Best Waterfront Development.

Emaar Middle East, a subsidiary of global property developer Emaar Properties PJSC, won the Best Commercial, Office and Retail Project Award (Future) for its Jeddah Gate development. The award was accepted by Eng. Ahmad Al Kulli, General Manager of Emaar Middle East.

When completed, Jeddah Gate will have more than 100,000 square meters of office space and over 30,000 square meters of leasable retail space, which will have a positive impact on the local economy. The first homes in Jeddah Gate in the Abraj Al Hilal, a cluster of three high-rise residential towers, will be handed over shortly."

Commenting on the awards, Deep Marwaha said: "The Cityscape Awards for Real Estate in Saudi Arabia 2011 attracted a high level of nominees whose real estate projects have set a benchmark for other developers and architects across the region. I congratulate all the nominees on the exceptional quality of their entries and also thank the jury who put time and effort into choosing the worthy winners."

One of the magnets of Cityscape Jeddah is the Jeddah Real Estate Summit that took place alongside the exhibition and this year it featured 35 CEO-level speakers and 100 senior-level delegates who joined the 13 panel sessions.

Among the most prominent was Dr. Sami Mohsen Baroum, Chairman of Knowledge Economic City, who described how economic cities drive diversification in the Kingdom and how they will contribute to meeting the demand for sustainable supply of real estate properties and create healthy communities.

Sponsors of Cityscape Jeddah 2011 included:
Sumou Real Estate (Principal Sponsor),
Ewaan (Founding Sponsor);
Aloula Real Estate, (Gold Sponsor);
and Raysan Arabia (Silver Sponsor).