Abraj Kudai is a partially built hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Originally projected to open in 2017, construction was halted in 2015 due to financial difficulties. As of 2023, the hotel had yet to be opened to the public.
If completed, it will be one of the largest hotels in the world, consisting of a ring of 12 towers 45 stories high, with 10,000 bedrooms, 70 restaurants, and four rooftop helipads. There will also be five floors for the sole use of the Saudi royal family.
According to Arabian Business, 10 of the towers will provide four-star accommodations, while the other two towers will be reserved for special clientele offering five-star amenities.
The estimated project cost is US$3.5 billion, and will cover approximately 1.4 million square metres. The London-based firm, Areen Hospitality, had been contracted to design the hotel and the rooms’ interiors.
As owner of the Abraj Kudai project, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance is also a prime customer of The Saudi Binladin Group (SBL), one of the country’s largest construction companies.
The actions of the government directly affect SBL and so when low oil prices began propelling the government “to cancel or suspend projects and delay payments”, SBL suffers too.
Further exacerbating the situation, as reported by Gulf Business, was when one of SBL’s cranes fell into the Grand Mosque in Mecca, resulting in 107 deaths and the company being banned “from receiving new state contracts altogether.”
In response to its potential financial collapse, the conglomerate laid off thousands of employees and stopped work on several important projects including Abraj Kudai.
To be updated…
