Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC) is pressing ahead with the final stages of its multi-billion-dollar mega mixed-use development adjacent to the Grand Mosque, with Phase Four of the project now more than 92 per cent complete and a seventh and final phase moving from planning into early execution, according to company disclosures.
Positioned on the western edge of the Haram area, the massive development was conceived two decades ago to expand hotel, retail and residential capacity for pilgrims and visitors.
The Saudi-listed JODC, one of the largest real estate firms in the Middle East, said Phase Four stood at 92.54 per cent completion as of July 2026, the most advanced of its unfinished phases. Phases One, Two, Three and Five and Six are listed as fully complete, according to the company’s website, while Phase Seven – sited directly in front of the Grand Mosque – is at an early 10 per cent stage as the company advances planning work.
Phase Four towers nearing handover
Phase Four comprises three structural bases supporting seven hotel towers, a government services facility at the heart of the project, and a total construction area of 309,557 sq m. The developer has said it intends to add 1,346 keys and more than 20,000 sq m of gross leasing area within the phase by 2027.
Three of the seven towers are being operated under an agreement with Rotana Hotels, with the remaining four under Accor’s Sofitel brand. Rotana Jabal Omar Makkah, a 655-room property, began operating in the fourth quarter of 2025, and JODC said this year it had secured a licence to operate the third and final Rotana tower, as part of the phase’s staged handover.
Accor and JODC signed an agreement in late October 2025 to open the world’s largest Sofitel property in Makkah.
Sofitel Jabal Omar Makkah, a larger 1,141-key property with six restaurants and an executive lounge, is targeted to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.
JODC Chairman Saeed Al-Ghamdi said the phase would generate more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs, while highlighting the development’s contribution to Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of expanding Hajj and Umrah pilgrim capacity. Chief Executive Saleh Alhabdan said the phase’s completion would lift JODC’s total hospitality portfolio to roughly 7,800 hotel rooms.
Jabal Omar currently hosts eight luxury hotels managed by leading international operators, distributed across 18 towers, including: Marriott Makkah, Hyatt Regency Makkah, Hilton Suites Makkah, Hilton Convention Makkah, Conrad Makkah, DoubleTree by Hilton Makkah, Address Jabal Omar, and Jumeirah Jabal Omar.
Project Scale & History
Jabal Omar was conceived in 2006, when the Saudi government established JODC with a capital of SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion). Today, the project enfolds 45 towers, with eight five-star hotels, four commercial centres and 1,500 parking slots. The completed phases account for a combined built-up area running into the millions of square metres.
Phase One consists of four structural bases accommodating 10 hospitality and residential towers in addition to 10 luxurious penthouses and commercial spaces with a total built area of 26,959 sq m served with 592 parking spaces. The total construction area for the first phase is about 517,102 sq m. This phase was launched during the first quarter of 2017.
Completion of Phase Four will lift JODC’s total hospitality portfolio to roughly 7,800 hotel rooms.
Phase Two consists of a single structural base, accommodating four hospitality towers with a view of Ibrahim Al-Khalil Street and a total built-up area of 198,451 sq m. The base building consists of three commercial floors, 96 residential units, four villas, and three parking floors.
Phase Three, comprising two construction bases and four towers, added 422,535 sq m and 2,160 hotel rooms across twin towers linked by the Musallah sky bridge. Phases Five and Six, now complete, were expanded during construction to a combined 728,842 sq m.
Meanwhile, following regulatory changes widening the areas of Makkah open to non-Saudi buyers, JODC has outlined a strategy to sell 400 existing hotel-residential units, with proceeds earmarked primarily for debt reduction, and to structure Phase Seven around off-plan sales to lower financing requirements – a move the company says should ease capital intensity as it enters the project’s last stage.
JODC has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Abdullah Al Othaim Entertainment to develop and operate a children’s entertainment venue within Souq Bab Makkah at Jabal Omar. The agreement, part of a broader push to diversify the destination’s retail and leisure offering beyond hospitality and shopping, is intended to give pilgrim families a supervised entertainment option while they perform rituals at the Grand Mosque, according to the company.
With Phase Four’s tower handovers now set for operational start-up, attention is shifting to Phase Seven, the project’s final and most prominent parcel directly opposite the Grand Mosque. JODC has said that planning work is under way and that the phase will lean more heavily on pre-sales to fund development.