A new residential and administrative city is set to be developed outside Makkah to accommodate more than 600,000 people, said a report.

The Makkah Gate Project will be built on the Makkah-Jeddah Highway and will have 45 model districts, Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar was quoted as saying in the Arab News report.

The 83 million sq m project, which will be developed with private sector support, will include educational institutions, government offices, shopping centres, housing units and a national park, said the mayor.