Top 11 projects launched in February 2024: Oman mountain resort; new NEOM resort; $100mn data centre

If you thought January kept the construction industry on its toes, February took it to the next level.

While January laid the groundwork with a few residential projects, February witnessed a surge in diverse developments, particularly focusing on community projects and social infrastructure across the Middle East.

Some of the developers that stood out last month include Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, RIKAZ, Bloom Holding, NEOM, and more.

Please note that this list is not a ranking.

1.?Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning: Omani Mountain Destination

Type: Mountain resort

Value: $2.4 billion

Features: 2,527 homes, 2,000 hospitality rooms, purpose-built health and wellness village.

Located 153 kilometres from Muscat at an altitude of 2,400 metres, the $2.4 billion project will contribute to the nation’s projected pipeline of planned projects worth over $33 billion.

Masterplanned by AtkinsRéalis and designed in consultation with local communities, it will include 2,527 homes and 2,000 hospitality rooms as part of hotels, and a purpose-built health and wellness village, The Vessel.

The destination is expected to attract a residential population of more than 8,000 and an average of 2,350 overnight visitors and 2,000 daily visitors.

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4.?Arcapita, RIKAZ: The Node

Type: Logistics park

Features: 3 million square metre development, 400,000m2 to consist of Grade A warehousing facilities.

Bahrain’s investment bank and real estate asset manager, Arcapita, has announced a partnership with large-scale real estate developer RIKAZ to develop a logistics park called The Node in eastern Riyadh.

The Node is a three million square metre development, approximately 400,000 m2 of which will consist of Grade A warehousing facilities. It will have access to ?King Khalid International Airport, the Second and Third Ring Roads, Khurais, Dammam, and the Eastern Ring Road

The project is designed to meet the specifications of prominent international and regional tenants and poised to become Riyadh’s premier logistics hub, and is expected to generate over 3,000 jobs.

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6.?NEOM: Raffles Trojena

Type: Mountain destination

Features: 2,300m above sea level, 105 guestrooms, landscaped gardens, stargazing camp, astronomical park, and butler service.

Raffles Hotels & Resorts, an Accor luxury brand, is planning to launch a new resort at Trojena, the year-round mountain destination in northwestern Saudi Arabia and part of NEOM.

Raffles Trojena is expected to open in 2027 in the development’s Discover cluster and will have a unique, ring-shaped design offering unobstructed panoramic views of the surrounding mountain landscape at a height of 2,300 metres above sea level.

The resort’s 105 guestrooms will be arranged along the perimeter of the ring.

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7.?DAMAC, Vodafone: Data centre in Turkey

Type: Data centre

Value: $100 million

DAMAC’s digital infrastructure division, EDGNEX Data Centres, is set to build a cutting-edge data centre in Izmir, Turkey.

The company announced on Tuesday a strategic joint venture with British telecom giant Vodafone, earmarking an investment of $100 million (AED367.2 million) for the project.

The state-of-the-art data centre is scheduled for completion in 2025, and aims for a capacity of six megawatts, contributing significantly to the advancement of digital infrastructure in the region. It will be designed to meet Tier 3 standards.

The Vodafone ecosystem in Turkey generated $2.2 billion during FY2022-23, and the move with DAMAC is framed by a five-year growth plan for regional expansion.

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