King Abdullah Economic City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, $27billion project

$26.6 BILLION: Emaar plans new city near Jeddah
Posted: Tuesday, December 20, 2005


Riyadh

Emaar, a Dubai-based developer, and the Saudi government have unveiled a massive $26.6-billion project to build a residential and commercial complex near Jeddah. The project will be called the King Abdullah Economic City.

The project is the single largest private sector investment in Saudi Arabia, Emaar officials said.

The project is expected to create 500,000 new jobs, said the officials.

An Emaar-led consortium made up of Saudi and Emirati companies, including the Saudi Bin Ladin construction company, will be the main investor in the development.

'The King Abdullah Economic City will be another jewel in the crown for Saudi Arabia and a shining example of what can be achieved for the common good when two brotherly nations get together for ever closer co-operation,' said General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister.

“I am certain that what will be achieved through this project will create its own chapter in the annals of the GCC.”

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) will act as project co-ordinator, Emaar said, adding that a 30 per cent equity stake in the development company will be later floated on the stock market.

The Saudi government has earmarked a 55 million sq m greenfield land and a 35-km shoreline close to the industrial city of Rabegh for the development.

Included in the project is a new port, an industrial park, a 3,500-unit residential and hotel complex and a facility that will serve up to half-a-million pilgrims arriving by sea each year on their way to the holy city of Makkah.

The King Abdullah Economic City will be a multi-stage development, with construction beginning tomorrow.

Sagia Governor Amr Al Dabbagh said The City “is one of the most impressive projects Saudi Arabia has attempted in the New Millennium”.

Emaar chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar said the City “will be a world class location to work, live and play and a shining example for Saudi Arabia’s transformation into a global economic powerhouse and further consolidate its position as the Middle East’s largest economy”.

Shaikh Mohammed, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz Al Saud and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, were among those attending the project's launch ceremony.

The announcement of the ‘King Abdullah Economic City’ is a signal of the dawn of a new era of economic prosperity for Saudi citizens.

The project will be a New Age City being built today for tomorrow’s generation of Saudi citizens,
officials said.

This mega project will closely integrate itself into the Kingdom’s on-going drive to expand the economy, create employment opportunities for its youthful population and function as a catalyst to attract foreign investment, global trade, commerce and industry.

Based on initial forecasts, the project and its several components will create up to 500,000 employment opportunities in the various industries and service-oriented companies that will open in the City.

The City will be a mixed-use development located north of the commercial hub of Jeddah to ensure easy access from the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madina.

The City will have six distinct components – a modern world-class Seaport, Industrial District, Financial Island, Education Zone, Resorts and The Residential Area. Completion of the overall project will be done in stages with the first batch of businesses and residents moving into the City in a period of 24 to 36 months.

Emaar Properties is the master developer of this ambitious project, the biggest outside of its home market of the UAE. SAGIA is the prime facilitator for the development.

SAGIA’s Investor Service Centre will facilitate the provision of services to potential investors. The centre is Sagia’s “one-step” solution aimed at minimizing the number of formal steps associated with investment in the Kingdom.

Central to the mega project is the creation of a 2.6 million square metre new Millennium Seaport similar in size to the world’s top 10 ports, such as Rotterdam, that would allow even the world’s largest super vessels to drop anchor.

With its strategic location on the Red Sea and the instant access to key cities within Saudi Arabia, the port will have a designated area for light industry and logistics and be a natural platform for onward movement of goods to Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond.

The port will have an integrated transport system with seamless high speed transitions from sea to rail, road and air, making the City the main gateway to the central and eastern provinces as well as the entire Kingdom.

The port, with its close proximity to Makkah and Madina, will have a dedicated Hajj terminal that can receive over 500,000 pilgrims every season. To cater to the pilgrims’ every need, there will be adjoining hotels, medical centres and other world-class amenities.

The second component of the City – The Industrial District – will cover eight million square metres, and is exclusive to the requirements of a range of manufacturers – small, medium and large scale industry.

They will represent sectors such as downstream petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, research and development activities as well as a host of educational institutions that will prepare young Saudis for the jobs that the City will bring in. A sizeable area has also been set aside to develop accommodation for employees and their families.

The waterside resort will serve up a most compelling mix of waterfront hotels and boutique residences. The master plan envisages 3,500 well-appointed hotel and residential bedrooms and suites, premium villas, plus an extensive retail element and an international-class signature 18-hole golf course and an equestrian club.

The fourth element of the City will be the Financial Island, conceived to be a ‘city within a city’ for financial institutions. The Island will offer 500,000 square metres of office space for the leading international and regional financial entities, business hotels and a new exhibition and convention centre. Up to 60,000 professionals are to operate from the Financial Island on a daily basis.

Financial Island will be topped by two towers reaching up to 100 and 60 storeys that offer compelling views of the surrounding city skyline.

Three residential districts form the fifth component of the new City. The first district wraps itself around a town centre, which will be a blend of the traditional and the modern. The second district will have a corniche as its main theme. It is in keeping with this concept that the district will ‘curve’ around a top-of-its-class marina and yacht club with 450 boat moorings. The souq and retail elements will contribute 350,000 square meters of prime space. Around 75,000 residents are expected to live here.

The third residential district will be a secluded community set on an island on a choice water location.

The sixth component is the Education Zone which comprises of Universities, Schools and Research & Development Centres.

Headed by Emaar, a group of giant Saudi and UAE companies has been formed to facilitate investments for the project.

The group includes companies such as: Aseer Company for Trade, Tourism, Industry, Agriculture, Real Estate and Construction, as well as Saudi Binladen Group. 30% of the equity of the company will be offered in an IPO in due course.

“It is no coincidence that the City is being formally launched, as Saudi Arabia has now become a part of the World Trade Organisation,” said Sagia Governor Amr Al Dabbagh.

“The fact that we were able to move ahead with this project on a fast track basis shows that Saudi Arabia is moving ahead with confidence to transform the economy and build more sustainable prosperity for its citizens,” he said.

He explained that this project will have a major role in attracting the Saudi and foreign investment and assured that all necessary licensing procedures will be done within one week of application in coordination with other concerned government departments.

Al Dabbagh also stressed that the project will fulfil SAGIA’s ambitious plans and it will help promote Saudi Arabia as an international investment destination while pushing forward the Saudi economy into a new phase of adapting international standards.

The private sector involvement in this project will create huge job opportunities, with no additional cost on the Saudi government except for the services and facilities, which will be provided by SAGIA and other government departments.

“It is also in keeping with the spirit of co-operation that binds the fraternal countries of the GCC, that the City brings closer Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Emirate of Dubai to work towards a common endeavour,” Al Dabbagh said.

“SAGIA is proud to be part of this important milestone in the epoch-making moment for our Kingdom and the GCC.”

Emaar chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar added: “The six components - seaport, industrial district, education zone, financial island, resorts and the residential area - of the City - will work seamlessly together to make it an important global destination and a focus area for the development of both heavy and light industry, services in various sectors and bring in a greater level of local investment as well as regional and international Foreign Direct Investment into the Kingdom and thus more job opportunities for Saudi youth.

“In the past decade, Emaar Properties has built experience and knowledge on how to transform the power of ideas into reality. The company is now honoured to be part of the great leap forward that brings together the people of Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” Alabbar said.

“The King Abdullah Economic City with it six distinct components is a project whose time has come. It will add tremendous value to the on-going economic reform process driven by the Saudi Government and bring a host of opportunities aimed at the prosperity of Saudi citizens,” Alabbar concluded.

Prior to the launch phase, Sagia had taken a number of steps to ensure a successful launch of the biggest economic city in the Middle East, including a case study of similar examples such as Yanbu, Al Jubail, Dubai, Ireland and Malaysia.

Constructing a private sector financed economic city, is one of the successful strategies to achieve a regional, balanced and sustainable development. Cities have already been identified within a number of regions in Saudi Arabia to establish international, export-oriented industries including Hakkel (in the North West), Jazan (in the South), Ras Elzor (in the East), Rabegh (to the West), and Hayel (in Mid North).

A committee of international consultants was entrusted to study the economic feasibility of the project. With positive results, Rabegh city has been chosen because it already has major ongoing projects, a strategic location on the Red Sea close to international maritime routes, and instant access to key cities within Saudi Arabia (Makkah, Al Madina, Yanbu and Jeddah).

Saudi Arabia to build new $26b city




RIYADH: Oil-rich Saudi Arabia unveiled a 26.6-billion-dollar project on Tuesday to build a state-of-the art residential and industrial city, timed with its new membership to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

King Abdullah Economic City will be located near the western industrial city of Rabegh on the Red Sea coast, north of the kingdom’s second largest city Jeddah.

An Emaar-led consortium made up of Saudi and Emirati companies, including the Saudi Bin Laden construction company, will be the main investor in the development. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), in charge of attracting foreign investment to the kingdom, will be the project coordinator. “In what is considered the single largest private sector investment in Saudi Arabia, the announcement ... is a signal of a new era of economic prosperity,” Emaar said.

The project was announced at SAGIA’s headquarters in Riyadh in the presence of Saudi King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz and Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, highlighting the significance given to the project by the Saudi government.

“It is no coincidence that the city is being formally launched as Saudi Arabia has now become a part of the World Trade Organisation,” said Amr al-Dabbagh, SAGIA’s governor. “The fact that we were able to move ahead with this project quickly shows that Saudi Arabia is moving ahead with confidence to transform the economy and build more sustainable prosperity for its citizens.”

Saudi Arabia is expected to record a budget surplus of 57 billion dollars in 2005 on the back of surging crude prices, and its economy will grow by 6.5 percent this year, according to ministry of finance forecasts. The project is expected to create some 500,000 jobs, Emaar said. The Saudi government has earmarked a 55 million square metre green field land and a 35-kilometre shoreline for the project which will include a new port, an industrial park, a financial district, a 3,500-unit residential and hotel complex and even an 18-hole golf course. Emaar, majority owned by the Dubai government, is one of the world’s largest property developers, boasting a 7.7-billion-dollar asset base. afp

Does Musharraf know your making threads about other countries?

im sure osama gone be damed p*iss*d when he finds out about this i mean no one bothered to go over the designs with him.

is there such a shortage of land in saudi arabia that they need to build on 'islands'?

evewn if he sends 10% of those 27 billion to Pakistan relief fund

we ll have half of our problems cut short

I was looking at the ads for this - yesterdays Khaleej Times has this on the first page ( the first page was ONE large ad !)...

Its to be built between Mecca and Jeddah - Since EMAAR the dubai builder is doing this project and there is some general trend in the Gulf states to do these water front type projects, I am not too surprised.

27 Billion is a lot of money and the result will be a new city with a port etc - interesting project to watch as it happens but who in their right minds wants to go to Saudi Arabia and live there or if the locals will leave their homes and flock to this place in their droves - is a 100 Billion Dollar question !

Instead of making islands - they should invest some money doing something about the empty desert space in the middle of saudi arabia - called - "Ruba'a Al Khali" - the empty desert space.

Although, this project does sound kinda exciting - It's somewhat related to the Dubai project - Dubai Palm Islands (Dubai Land) it's called I think.. but yeah, quite amazing what new techniques people are coming up with. On-Water construction.

But I also liked the 100 billion dollar question

http://www.kingabdullahcity.com/en/ver2/

click on media and watch the video.

not many people will move to saudi arbia but many people will leave other places in saudia arbia and move here, main reason - employment, this new city will offer good employment, especially on the finacial island will will have high paid jobs.

dubai did and it succeded, even in lahore bahria made bahria town in lahore suburbs, which was like a small town in the middle of a jungle but now 100 familes moved there from october-december and 2000 are expected to move there this year will the completion of safari villas and sector b.

this project is only on 13,000 acres. emaar have a 50,000 acre city coming up in lahore suburbs too, which shall be launched end of 2006.