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Real estate fund behind billion-riyal Medina development

By Gavin Gibbon
Medina real estate fund Knowledge City Riyadh Chapman Taylor Architects
The Knowledge Economic City Company is donating the land for the new fund to manage
  • Total $280m investment
  • 576 apartments
  • 150 hotel keys

A billion-riyal mixed-use project has been launched in Medina as the inaugural development of a new Saudi real estate fund.

The development fund is a collaboration between the Knowledge Economic City Company (KEC), Sidra Capital and Ravel Properties.

The fund will develop a 33,2300sq m plot of land along King Abdulaziz Road, which is located within the KEC Masterplan.

The Al Duha development will involve a total investment of SAR1.04 billion ($280 million) and will include 150 hotel keys and 576 residential apartments, in addition to around 20,000 sq m of leasable office space and retail space.

KEC will be a majority investor and will contribute the land as an in-kind investment in the fund, which is due to be launched in the first quarter of next year. 

Sidra Capital has been appointed manager of the Medina real estate fund and Raseel Properties will act as a project developer for the fund.

The number of private investment funds in Saudi Arabia rose to 1,154 in the third quarter, up from 1,085 in Q2 2024.

A report from the Capital Market Authority said assets of Saudi private investment funds increased by 7 percent year on year to SAR500 billion in Q3 2024.

This was dominated by real estate funds, which took more than 40 percent of the total assets, at SAR208 billion.

During the first half of the year, the total number of real estate transactions across all asset classes in Saudi Arabia was up by 38 percent to just over 106,700, while the total value of all deals grew by 50 percent to SAR127.3 billion over the same period, data from the consultancy Knight Frank Middle East showed.

In Medina Knight Frank is tracking 17,200 homes due to be delivered by the end of 2026, which will take the city’s total housing stock to 367,030 units.

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