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Knowledge Economic City (KEC) is looking to unlock SAR 5 bn in value from one of its Madinah land parcels without putting up the development capital. The company signed a development agreement with Alrashid Properties for Multaqa Residences, a mixed-use project comprising residential units, branded residences, and commercial space, according to a Tadawul filing. Per the agreement, Alrashid funds, builds, and sells. KEC keeps the land and a share of the upside.
The site: Multaqa Residences sits on King Abdulaziz Road within the Multaqa Al Madinah development, overlooking Multaqa Mall and the surrounding hospitality cluster. The 149.5k-sqm site has been valued at SAR 9k per sqm, implying a total value of around SAR 1.35 bn, compared with its SAR 94 mn book value.
How the partnership works: Alrashid takes on the full lifecycle — design, engineering, financing, construction, marketing, sales, delivery, and maintenance — and will fully fund the estimated SAR 2.6 bn development cost, excluding the land. It will also manage the escrow account and deliver the project under Saudi Arabia’s Wafi off-plan sales framework. KEC, meanwhile, stays as master developer, retains ownership of the land throughout, and handles subdivision and title transfer. Any proceeds above an agreed benchmark will be shared between the two companies, with total revenue expected to reach SAR 5 bn.
Construction is expected to take 54 months, with extensions possible under certain conditions.
Why it matters: The agreement gives KEC a way to monetize its land bank without taking on construction or financing risk. Rather than selling the land outright, it keeps ownership while sharing in the project’s returns, preserving capital for other developments. This capital-light model could be one KEC turns to more often — especially since it remained in the red in 1Q 2026, posting a net loss of SAR 15.4 mn despite an 8.7% y-o-y increase in revenue to SAR 55.4 mn.
REMEMBER- KEC’s former CEO Hazem Elbanna previously told us that Multaqa Al Madinah — home to the Multaqa Residences project — is one of the developments it is preparing for international buyers and said it is updating its sales, regulatory, and customer onboarding processes ahead of the rollout.
