Al Anwa for Investment & Real Estate Development, the property arm of Saudi-based Al Ibrahim Investment Group, has announced plans to develop a series of hospitality and residential projects across the kingdom at an investment of over SR6 billion ($1.6 billion) over the next four years.

These projects will be developed in partnership with Investor for Securities, a boutique investment banking firm headquartered in Riyadh, said the company in a statement.

Recent studies have highlighted growth in the Saudi economy in the last five years showing an increase of six per cent with oil prices cited as one of the contributing factors.

For the same period, there has been strong growth in the private sector and non-oil related industries with an average increase of  seven per cent, supported by high levels of business lending by the banks, thus indicating strong growth in the market from a real estate perspective, said experts.

Al Anwa and Investor for Securities will jointly develop a new community project at an investment of nearly SR2 billion ($533 million) besides a series of hospitality and residential projects across the kingdom, said a top official.

"We will also launch a new investment project located on the King’s Road in Jeddah in addition to an integrated services residential scheme in the north of the province, adding to the more than one million sq m of projects under development," stated Salman bin Abdullah bin Fadilah, the general manager of Al Anwa.

According to him, the company signed several agreements in this connection at the recent Cityscape expo in Dubai, UAE.

Al Anwa showcased its prime residential, commercial and tourism project portfolio at the event.

“We are delighted with the outcome of Cityscape Global, we not only met our expectations but exceeded them in terms of highlighting the investment opportunities in the kingdom to a range of high quality investors from around the world," remarked Salman.

"Our goal was to showcase a range of projects located in Riyadh, Makkah and Jeddah to reputed local and international investors and developers. The signing of a memorandum of understanding  with the Investor for Securities group was particularly good news and we look to the future with great optimism," he said.

Investor for Securities board chairman Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Fazwan said:"Our team has already started work on a preliminary study and design concept for an ‘under-wraps’ project for the Jeddah Corniche, which is set to be one of the largest and most important investment mixed-use projects in the region."

"It will feature commercial and residential towers as well as retail and entertainment spaces covering an area of more than 50,000 sq m," he added.-TradeArabia News Service