(MENAFN - Arab News) �Saudi Arabia has embarked
on a major SR100 billion ($26.6 billion) project
to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and
transform the Saudi economy into a global
economic powerhouse.
Last December, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah laid the foundation stone of King
Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) on a greenfield
site in Rabigh, 200 km north of Jeddah. The
largest of the four new economic cities planned
in different parts of the Kingdom and designed
to attract overseas investments and create job
opportunities for Saudis, it also is the biggest
construction project in the GCC � and is getting
bigger all the time. Initial designs were
recently substantially redrawn � to create a
city five times the original plan. Reports now
say that the project will cost not SR100 billion
but SR200 billion. Even before it was expanded,
the project was described as a "jewel in the
crown of Saudi Arabia" by Dubai's ruler and UAE
Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. It is now the
largest construction project in the Middle East,
probably the largest in the world.
One of the major objectives behind the economic
cities is the creation of new,
strategically-planned industrial centers which
have the capacity to develop and expand and be a
magnet for overseas investors. When completed,
the KAEC will house at least two million people
and, according to latest projection, create
nearly a million jobs. The talk is that it will
rival Jeddah, becoming not merely an industrial
city but, with its brand new infrastructure, a
commercial center as well.
King Abdullah toured the site of the project,
inspecting progress. Among work under way or
already finished in this multistage project are
the city's first boulevard � a 15 km stretch
that will be lined with over 3,000 palm trees �
and the excavation of the first canal to run
through the Red Sea Village, a component of
KAEC. Geo-technical investigations are under way
for residential units and designs have been
drawn up for one of the main entry gates. The
first Corniche Park and marina have also been
completed.
Work began on the project the very day King
Abdullah launched the KAEC at the headquarters
of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
(SAGIA), the project's prime facilitator, in
Riyadh on Dec. 20, 2005. Less than a year later
the king was given an overview of the
considerable progress that has been made.
"We're extremely thankful to King Abdullah for
his generous patronage of the project and his
keen interest in developing KAEC as a beacon of
the Kingdom's future development," says Mohamed
Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Economic City
(EEC), the company which was given the contract
to build the KAEC. It was set up by Dubai-based
Emaar Properties (the world's largest real
estate company with over $40 billion worth of
projects) in a joint venture with Saudi
companies Aseer Trading, Tourism & Manufacturing
and the Binladin Group.
King Abdullah's visit followed the completion of
EEC's record-breaking initial public offering
(IPO) of SR2.55 billion, 30 percent of the SR8.5
billion total capital, to which more than half
of the Saudi national population subscribed.
This immense project, a new-age city built today
for tomorrow's generation of Saudi citizens,
will integrate itself into the Kingdom's ongoing
drive to expand and diversify the economy and
act as a hub for foreign investors, global
trade, commerce and industry. It will include a
new international airport.
EEC's Alabbar explains: "The six components �
seaport, industrial district, educational zone,
financial island, resorts and the residential
areas � will work seamlessly together. They will
make KAEC an important global destination and a
focus for the development of both heavy and
light industry and a range of services. These
will bring in a greater level of local
investment as well as regional and international
foreign direct investment into the Kingdom."
Central to the mega project is the new seaport.
"Covering 13.8 million square meters, a major
increase of 11.2 million square meters from the
original project, the seaport will be the
largest in the region with a capacity of over 10
million containers per year," says Alabbar.
"This is significantly higher than all other
regional ports. The port will have facilities to
handle cargo and dry bulk and will be equipped
to receive the world's largest vessels."
With its strategic location on the Red Sea and
easy access to key cities within Saudi Arabia,
the port will have a designated zone for light
industry and logistics. It is designed to serve
as a transshipment center for onward movement of
goods to Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond. It
will boast an integrated transport system with
seamless high-speed transition from sea to rail,
road and air, making the city the main gateway
to the Central and Eastern Provinces.
Being so close to the holy cities of Makkah and
Madinah, it will also have a dedicated Haj
terminal that can receive over 500,000 pilgrims
every season. To cater to this flow of visitors
there will be adjoining hotels, medical centers
and other world-class amenities.
The educational zone will consist of a
university, colleges and schools. There will
also be research and development centers, a
luxury holiday resort as well as residential and
commercial centers.
The major modification of the KAEC master plan
with substantial additions to its six major
components will generate even more employment
opportunities for Saudis. It now has the
potential to generate one million jobs, twice
the original target. The breakdown of jobs to be
created is: Industrial and light industries
330,000; research and development 150,000;
commerce 200,000; services 115,000; hospitality
60,000 and education and community services
145,000.
"We're creating a new nerve center for global
businesses that look at the investment
opportunities provided by the Kingdom," says
Alabbar. "This aligns with the vision outlined
by King Abdullah to make the Kingdom among the
Top 10 most competitive nations in the world by
2010."
"This expansion is a landmark move for EEC,
which has gained the trust of the Saudi
citizens," affirms EEC CEO Nidal Jamjoom. "Every
component of the project is being scaled up
corresponding to the additional land. This
expansion will eventually translate into more
business opportunities for Saudis as well as
overseas investors."
RSP Architects, principle planners of King
Abdullah Economic City, revised the overall
master plan of the project. Additional detailed
planning was provided by WATG for the resorts
and residential zones, by SOM for the city
center and by Parsons International for the
industrial zone.
Following the expansion, the Industrial District
will now cover 40 million square meters, five
times more than previously envisaged. There will
be room for 2,700 industrial tenants. The
industrial district will have specific start-up
initiatives to encourage and attract local
entrepreneurs. International experts have been
consulted to ensure that the zone's development
follows best environmental practices.
The Central Business District (CBD) will offer
3.8 million square meters of office space,
hotels and mixed-use commercial space. The
financial district, within the CBD, has now been
doubled in area to cover 14 hectares. It will
offer the largest regional financial nerve
center to the world's leading banks, investment
houses and insurance groups. The expectation is
that new banks and financial institutions coming
to the Kingdom will set up their headquarters
there.
The retail component of KAEC takes a quantum
jump following the project's expansion. From an
area of 3.3 million square meters, the total
retail space will now spread to 8.7 million
square meters to house over 50,000 shops, nearly
three times the earlier estimate.
The hospitality zone has seen the number of
hotel rooms and suites increased from 12,000 in
60 hotels to 25,000 in more than 120 hotels. An
ideal place to work and live, the KAEC will now
have 250,000 apartments and 25,000 villas, a
leap from 110,000 apartments and 16,000 villas.
Foreigners will be able to buy property in KAEC.
Building on the socio-cultural environment
demanded of living environments, KAEC will be
provided with 550 mosques including several
grand mosques in the residential zones. Schools
will be opened to cater to the educational needs
of children in each community in addition to a
university campus for 18,000 students. A sports
stadium with 45,000 seats is also part of the
development.
All these figures are massive. It is like
building a new capital city. EEC's Alabbar has
reaffirmed that the company will meet its
deadline to build the city on time. During this
year's Jeddah Economic Forum, Alabbar promised
that within two to three years the first people
would start living in the city.
on a major SR100 billion ($26.6 billion) project
to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and
transform the Saudi economy into a global
economic powerhouse.
Last December, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah laid the foundation stone of King
Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) on a greenfield
site in Rabigh, 200 km north of Jeddah. The
largest of the four new economic cities planned
in different parts of the Kingdom and designed
to attract overseas investments and create job
opportunities for Saudis, it also is the biggest
construction project in the GCC � and is getting
bigger all the time. Initial designs were
recently substantially redrawn � to create a
city five times the original plan. Reports now
say that the project will cost not SR100 billion
but SR200 billion. Even before it was expanded,
the project was described as a "jewel in the
crown of Saudi Arabia" by Dubai's ruler and UAE
Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. It is now the
largest construction project in the Middle East,
probably the largest in the world.
One of the major objectives behind the economic
cities is the creation of new,
strategically-planned industrial centers which
have the capacity to develop and expand and be a
magnet for overseas investors. When completed,
the KAEC will house at least two million people
and, according to latest projection, create
nearly a million jobs. The talk is that it will
rival Jeddah, becoming not merely an industrial
city but, with its brand new infrastructure, a
commercial center as well.
King Abdullah toured the site of the project,
inspecting progress. Among work under way or
already finished in this multistage project are
the city's first boulevard � a 15 km stretch
that will be lined with over 3,000 palm trees �
and the excavation of the first canal to run
through the Red Sea Village, a component of
KAEC. Geo-technical investigations are under way
for residential units and designs have been
drawn up for one of the main entry gates. The
first Corniche Park and marina have also been
completed.
Work began on the project the very day King
Abdullah launched the KAEC at the headquarters
of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
(SAGIA), the project's prime facilitator, in
Riyadh on Dec. 20, 2005. Less than a year later
the king was given an overview of the
considerable progress that has been made.
"We're extremely thankful to King Abdullah for
his generous patronage of the project and his
keen interest in developing KAEC as a beacon of
the Kingdom's future development," says Mohamed
Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Economic City
(EEC), the company which was given the contract
to build the KAEC. It was set up by Dubai-based
Emaar Properties (the world's largest real
estate company with over $40 billion worth of
projects) in a joint venture with Saudi
companies Aseer Trading, Tourism & Manufacturing
and the Binladin Group.
King Abdullah's visit followed the completion of
EEC's record-breaking initial public offering
(IPO) of SR2.55 billion, 30 percent of the SR8.5
billion total capital, to which more than half
of the Saudi national population subscribed.
This immense project, a new-age city built today
for tomorrow's generation of Saudi citizens,
will integrate itself into the Kingdom's ongoing
drive to expand and diversify the economy and
act as a hub for foreign investors, global
trade, commerce and industry. It will include a
new international airport.
EEC's Alabbar explains: "The six components �
seaport, industrial district, educational zone,
financial island, resorts and the residential
areas � will work seamlessly together. They will
make KAEC an important global destination and a
focus for the development of both heavy and
light industry and a range of services. These
will bring in a greater level of local
investment as well as regional and international
foreign direct investment into the Kingdom."
Central to the mega project is the new seaport.
"Covering 13.8 million square meters, a major
increase of 11.2 million square meters from the
original project, the seaport will be the
largest in the region with a capacity of over 10
million containers per year," says Alabbar.
"This is significantly higher than all other
regional ports. The port will have facilities to
handle cargo and dry bulk and will be equipped
to receive the world's largest vessels."
With its strategic location on the Red Sea and
easy access to key cities within Saudi Arabia,
the port will have a designated zone for light
industry and logistics. It is designed to serve
as a transshipment center for onward movement of
goods to Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond. It
will boast an integrated transport system with
seamless high-speed transition from sea to rail,
road and air, making the city the main gateway
to the Central and Eastern Provinces.
Being so close to the holy cities of Makkah and
Madinah, it will also have a dedicated Haj
terminal that can receive over 500,000 pilgrims
every season. To cater to this flow of visitors
there will be adjoining hotels, medical centers
and other world-class amenities.
The educational zone will consist of a
university, colleges and schools. There will
also be research and development centers, a
luxury holiday resort as well as residential and
commercial centers.
The major modification of the KAEC master plan
with substantial additions to its six major
components will generate even more employment
opportunities for Saudis. It now has the
potential to generate one million jobs, twice
the original target. The breakdown of jobs to be
created is: Industrial and light industries
330,000; research and development 150,000;
commerce 200,000; services 115,000; hospitality
60,000 and education and community services
145,000.
"We're creating a new nerve center for global
businesses that look at the investment
opportunities provided by the Kingdom," says
Alabbar. "This aligns with the vision outlined
by King Abdullah to make the Kingdom among the
Top 10 most competitive nations in the world by
2010."
"This expansion is a landmark move for EEC,
which has gained the trust of the Saudi
citizens," affirms EEC CEO Nidal Jamjoom. "Every
component of the project is being scaled up
corresponding to the additional land. This
expansion will eventually translate into more
business opportunities for Saudis as well as
overseas investors."
RSP Architects, principle planners of King
Abdullah Economic City, revised the overall
master plan of the project. Additional detailed
planning was provided by WATG for the resorts
and residential zones, by SOM for the city
center and by Parsons International for the
industrial zone.
Following the expansion, the Industrial District
will now cover 40 million square meters, five
times more than previously envisaged. There will
be room for 2,700 industrial tenants. The
industrial district will have specific start-up
initiatives to encourage and attract local
entrepreneurs. International experts have been
consulted to ensure that the zone's development
follows best environmental practices.
The Central Business District (CBD) will offer
3.8 million square meters of office space,
hotels and mixed-use commercial space. The
financial district, within the CBD, has now been
doubled in area to cover 14 hectares. It will
offer the largest regional financial nerve
center to the world's leading banks, investment
houses and insurance groups. The expectation is
that new banks and financial institutions coming
to the Kingdom will set up their headquarters
there.
The retail component of KAEC takes a quantum
jump following the project's expansion. From an
area of 3.3 million square meters, the total
retail space will now spread to 8.7 million
square meters to house over 50,000 shops, nearly
three times the earlier estimate.
The hospitality zone has seen the number of
hotel rooms and suites increased from 12,000 in
60 hotels to 25,000 in more than 120 hotels. An
ideal place to work and live, the KAEC will now
have 250,000 apartments and 25,000 villas, a
leap from 110,000 apartments and 16,000 villas.
Foreigners will be able to buy property in KAEC.
Building on the socio-cultural environment
demanded of living environments, KAEC will be
provided with 550 mosques including several
grand mosques in the residential zones. Schools
will be opened to cater to the educational needs
of children in each community in addition to a
university campus for 18,000 students. A sports
stadium with 45,000 seats is also part of the
development.
All these figures are massive. It is like
building a new capital city. EEC's Alabbar has
reaffirmed that the company will meet its
deadline to build the city on time. During this
year's Jeddah Economic Forum, Alabbar promised
that within two to three years the first people
would start living in the city.
Source: MENAFN
0 comments:
Post a Comment