The Jeddah Expansion Summit 2012 opens today (March 27) with the aim of addressing the challenges, opportunities and strength of "expanding and regenerating" Jeddah. The Mayor of Jeddah, Dr. Hani Bin Mohammed Abu Ras, will deliver the keynote address at the one-day summit to be held at the Park Hyatt Hotel here. Jeddah Expansion 2012 brings together the cream of the Jeddah's construction community. As such, it is an ideal place to position company's brand, meet potential customers and existing clients. The conference will feature keynote addresses from leading players active in the investment and construction of real estate in the Jeddah. A series of keynote addresses and interactive panel discussions will provide a platform to discuss and debate the best way to design and construct the projects required to meet the demand of the growing population. In his role as Mayor, Dr. Hani is responsible for setting plans and policies for developing city infrastructure, which covers transportation, gardens and parks, buildings, uses of lands, services, economic development for disorganized regions and areas, in addition to cultural and environmental development of Jeddah City in general. The gathering is packed with real life examples that will outline the practical challenges of development in Jeddah, how obstacles have been overcome, and will reflect the opportunities for contractors and developers in the residential, commercial and hospitality real estate sectors. Drake & Scull International, a regional market leader in integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of civil contracting, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), and water and power, is exhibiting at the summit & and is also a Gold Sponsor. Case studies include Damac's Al Jawarah Tower, a 48-storey structure of one-to-four-bedroom apartments and five-bedroom penthouse suites that reflects the growing demand for luxury high-rise living. The second case study will focus on a large scale mixed use office and retail development underway in Jeddah. As the gateway to the holy cities, Jeddah's hotel development will also come under the spotlight via a case study on a hotel project in Makkah. Panel discussions that bring experts and practioners together will look into the demand for residential real estate in the Kingdom. Questions like "How can affordable housing be delivered in a style to fit the Saudi way of life, and is the Kingdom the new face of luxury high-rise residential development?" will be threshed out. Another panel discussion will focus on commercial development, both retail and office space. Questions like "Has Jeddah exhausted its appetite for mall space, and what kind of office space do businesses really want?" will be uncovered. Other panel discussion will tackle hotel development, the rise of budget and mid-level accommodation, and how developers and contractors can capitalize on this booming sector. Jeddah's real estate market is benefiting from the government's recently announced SR500 billion financial stimulus package and massive public sector infrastructure investments. Opportunities abound in Jeddah's residential sector as market rents and sale prices continue to rise. An additional 25 million sqm of land offered by the Jeddah Municipality for future large-scale residential developments is encouraging market activity by mitigating one of the key barriers to development: the high cost of land. Expanding the supply of land available for development will help address inventory and affordability issues to meet the growing housing demand from both the local and expatriate population. The Jeddah market will be further supported by the government's increased spending on housing and the large capital injection into the Real Estate Development Fund.
