Work is about to resume on a US$3.5 billion, 10,000-room Saudi Arabian mega-hotel that has been halted since 2015.
The news on Abraj Kudai in Mecca, which has 70 restaurants and multiple helipads, signals an easing of financial restrictions in the Kingdom, where state finances have strengthened somewhat this year because of moderately higher oil prices and cost-cutting, Reuters reported.
“With a clearer grasp on its finances, the government has allocated a portion of its budget toward completing key projects,” an executive of Saudi Binladin, one of the country’s biggest construction conglomerates, told Reuters.
A planned opening date for the Abraj Kudai, complete with a section reserved for the Saudi royal family, has not yet been confirmed. According to a Reuters source, it would take at least two and a half years to complete.