Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud launched a large-scale development called King Salman Gate, a mixed-use project next to Makkah’s Grand Mosque that the government says will add about 900,000 indoor and outdoor praying spaces.
The project covers roughly 12 million square meters (about 4.6 square miles) and is being delivered by the RUA AlHaram AlMakki Company. King Salman Gate is designed to improve access to the Grand Mosque and to integrate with public transport networks, although officials have not disclosed the project’s cost or an expected completion date.
From an architectural and urban-planning perspective, the scheme is being presented as a large-scale, integrated urban intervention. The development will be mixed-use, combining residential, hospitality, commercial, and cultural components around enhanced pedestrian and transit links to the Grand Mosque. The stated aim is to raise service levels for pilgrims and visitors while reshaping the immediate urban fabric around Islam’s holiest site.
The project reportedly includes restoration and development of approximately 19,000 square meters of heritage sites within the area and is projected to generate more than 300,000 jobs by 2036 as part of broader urban and economic transformation goals.
King Salman Gate is framed as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 push to diversify the economy through investment in tourism and infrastructure. The Vision 2030 targets include increasing Hajj and Umrah pilgrim numbers; the government aims to welcome up to 30 million pilgrims annually by 2030, and uses large infrastructure projects to support that growth.
Image credit: RUA AlHaram AlMakki Company
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