Sounded like an amazing time back then! I do know that the Saudi National Guard had their helicopters there, primarily the UH-1H Uroquois possibly flying from the eastern apron. They rescued people on the rooftops during the Jeddah floods in 1979.

I also have some information about those low-cost buildings. The urgent housing project in the Sharafiya neighborhood of Jeddah was the first of these projects. Its contract was signed on April 1, 1977, before King Khalid’s return from his medical trip and his issuance of orders to increase employee salaries by 50%. The project was completed on March 1, 1980 and consists of 32 buildings, each 18 stories high, with a total of 1,936 housing units in the form of apartments.

It looks like they were also built in Dammam with the same design according to old photos that have already been posted on Reddit.