Arab News     June 16, 2009   K.S. Ramkumar

JEDDAH: King Abdullah Economic City, Al-Andalus Mall and the architectural design excellence of Jeddah’s redevelopment master plan were among the projects honored at Cityscape Saudi Arabia Real Estate Awards on Sunday night. The awards were presented in the presence of international investors, developers, government and investment authorities, architects and key industry decision makers.

Cityscape Saudi Arabia concluded last night after featuring over 100 exhibiting companies showcasing their current and future projects to more than 5,000 key investors and real estate professionals.

The awards were split into five categories, Best Waterfront Development — Future, Best Commercial Retail — built, Best Commercial Retail — Future, Residential Project — Future and Best Urban Design and Master Planning.

The judges consisted of Alan Hall, a special counsel at the Riyadh office of major regional law firm Al-Tamimi & Co.; Dr. Aly Khorshid, Islamic finance scholar, Shariah consultant and director of Islamic studies at AcademyUK.org; Jurgen E. Herre, head of Hines Middle East and North Africa; and R. Veronica Mendieta, chairwoman and CEO, Developers & Builders Alliance.

The Best Waterfront Development — Future Award was claimed by EMAAR, The Economic City. It was in recognition of their stunning waterfront village Bay La Sun Residential City.

The Best Residential — Future Award also went to EMAAR, The Economic City for the Hawadi district development within King Abdullah Economic City. Other award winning projects included the Al-Ajlan Tower project in Riyadh, the Al-Andalus Mall in Jeddah, and US architect Davis Brody Bond Aedas for its comprehensive design contributions to the Jeddah redevelopment master plan.