Makkah hands its SAR 5.7 bn Hajj-transport build to the private sector

Makkah is handing its Hajj-season transport build-out to the private sector. The General Transport Center, the executive arm of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, has signed SAR 5.7 bn in agreements for Wasel Al Haram, a network of parking facilities, stations, and transport corridors feeding the central area and the Grand Mosque, SPA reports. All three investment packages are public-private partnerships financed entirely by the private side, signed at the Hajj Conference and Exhibition.

Two consortia split the work: A group comprising Saudi Alqaid, Spain’s Moventis, and Indonesia’s Waskita took the first and third packages, with the Mawgif consortium taking the second. The project spans 19 stations and parking facilities across seven corridors over 3.1 mn sqm, running a fleet of 3.2k buses, and is designed to carry 205 mn passengers a year.

Why it matters: The project extends Saudi Arabia’s shift towards private-sector financing of municipal infrastructure, with investors taking on costs traditionally borne by the Kingdom. Long-term concessions ease the load on public finances while drawing in international investors like Moventis and Waskita.

REMEMBER- Makkah is still tapping the private sector to rebuild itself: The Royal Commission has awarded SAR 13.3 bn in redevelopment projects across six districts, and Umm Al Qura sold another Masar plot for SAR 139 mn, after SAR 183.7 mn of Zone 2 land went to Makkiyoon Urban Developers and SAR 603.8 mn of Zone 3 land to Al Diyar Al Arabia. Thakher Development is lining up further land-block sales after Indonesia’s Danantara committed more than SAR 6 bn for a hotel and 14 plots.