The 1.91 million m2 GBA masterplan for Jeddah Airport City integrates an innovative mixed-use community in the kingdom, making it an aerotropolis – a metropolitan sub-region – whose infrastructure, land use and economy are centred around a
major airport.
“With JAC, the ministries’ goal is to increase the capacity and utilise the land bank around the airport (aerotropolis) to create a hub for the transit visitors, tourism, Umrah, and Hajj activity. This is being done by engaging the private sector to develop an infrastructure for the airport to increase the flow from and to the city, which will eventually feed into the rest of the projects within Jeddah City,” says Sultan Al-Harbi, chairman and CEO of SARH Real Estate Development Company.
The JAC will have five main components: a Business Centre, Accommodation facilities, a Lifestyle Centre, an Entertainment Zone, and an Exhibition Centre.
The Business Centre
The Business Centre will have two different zones spread across 80,000m2 and 120,000m2 dedicated to attracting the corporate sector and the entrepreneurial crowd by offering co-working spaces. According to Al-Harbi, this will be the destination for business travellers who will further support other features such as exhibitions, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment centres.
Accommodation facilities
He adds: “The accommodation component has been allocated a vast space for hotels that will incorporate the Saudi culture with a world-class touch. The plan includes a serviced apartment, three 3-star hotels, two 4-star hotels, and one 5-star hotel that can house 150, 400, 1,000, and 150 suites, respectively.
Lifestyle Centre
“Meanwhile, the Lifestyle Centre will be built on a footprint of 250,000m2 and will become a lifestyle destination serving the Jeddah community and enhancing their experience by applying a new approach towards providing digitised services.”
Al-Harbi also points out that the Lifestyle Centre will serve as a one-of-a-kind check-in and out service linking last mile delivery to the travellers’ journey. It also supports Vision 2030, which has prioritised creating more local content and enhancing the overall economy leading to a better quality of life and more opportunities. The mixed-use component of JAC will generate a minimum of 17,000 new jobs in retail and hospitality industries as well as the exhibition centre and the arena.
Entertainment Zone and Exhibition Centre
Explaining further, he notes that JAC would also have an entertainment arena, part of the Entertainment Zone and a 72,000m2 Exhibition Centre, with the former being designed to house 20,000 visitors and operated by ASM Global, while the latter’s design includes a dedicated space, named ‘Saudi Dreams’ which will showcase the region’s cultural diversity. The arena will create new jobs in media, entertainment, F&B, and transportation.
The developer adds that the central role of the city [JAC] is to act as the principal entry-port to the kingdom due to its geographical location and function as an effective centre of activity and network.
Planned to be developed in three main phases with different SPVs (special purpose vehicles), the JAC is expected to be fully operational by the beginning of 2029.
SARH details Jeddah Airport City
The development of JAC at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) is being led by SARH Real Estate Development Company. The concession was originally awarded by Saudi Arabian General Authority of Aviation (GACA) — later JEDCO — to Fawaz Alhokair & Partner. In March 2019, a partnership agreement between Fawaz Alhokair & Partner (under the name of Lynex Company) and SARH was approved by GACA to
develop the city.
With the approval of the GACA, JAC is part of phase one of JEDCO’s mega plan for KAIA, which also involves the planning and development of KAIA’s Cargo City, unlocking KAIA’s local and international business opportunities.
JAC has a 44-year lease with JEDCO, supporting a wide range of land uses and development. With its broad experience in real-estate investment and urban development, SARH is guiding the planning and development of JAC. SARH engaged AE Prime Engineering Consultant from the UAE and its partners, the Madrid Studio of global architecture firm, Chapman Taylor, to generate the mixed-use JAC concept masterplan, and DG Jones as an independent engineering consultant
from JEDCO.
JAC’s developer, SARH Real Estate Development Company, has a rich investment and real estate background and has taken on the role of filling the gap of delivering best-in-class quality projects in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
This story is part of Construction Week Middle East’s August issue of the magazine. You can read the full story here.
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