JEDDAH, 20 October 2006 — The Kingdom’s fourth economic city will be in the southwestern port city of Jizan. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is expected to launch the project on Nov. 5 during his visit to the region.
King Abdullah has already laid the foundation for three economic cities in Rabigh, Hail and Madinah, which are to draw domestic and foreign investment worth more than SR155 billion ($41.3 billion) and create nearly 100,000 new jobs.
The plan to launch the fourth economic city in Jizan comes after a detailed study on the region’s industrial prospects and its strategic geographic position. Jizan has rich deposits of limestone, dolomite, marble, basalt, gypsum and silica.
The Jizan region consists of fertile plains, forests, and mountains. The alluvial deposits brought down from the mountains by rivers and floods have created the fertile plains, which extend behind the coastal swampland.
The region runs along the Red Sea coast for almost 300 km and includes some 100 islands.
King Abdullah will visit the region as part of his tour of the Kingdom’s regions to meet with people and open new development projects. This is Abdullah’s first visit to Jizan after becoming king in August 2005. He has since visited Jubail, Alkhobar, Qateef, Ahsa, Hail, Qassim and Madinah.
Abdullah will also launch Jizan University, the first institution for higher learning in the southern region.
The university has six colleges for computer science, engineering, medicine, science, community and applied medical sciences.
The king is also scheduled to open the first phase of a housing project carried out by King Abdullah Charitable Foundation in Dehama village. He will distribute keys to 372 low-income houses to people in the village. The project was carried out at a cost of SR100 million.
Initiated by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Kingdom’s prestigious economic city projects are aimed at attracting not only foreign investment but also transfer of vital technology.
In remarks at World Affairs Council of Wilmington recently, Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Turki Al-Faisal said the Kingdom was offering investment opportunities worth more than $650 billion especially in vital sectors such as petrochemicals, power generation, telecommunications, desalination and railways.
“The economic city projects are in line with SAGIA’s strategy to promote investments into the country’s sectors that propose the best competitive advantages, namely, energy, transportation and knowledge-based industries (KBI),” said its Governor Amr Dabbagh.
The first economic city launched in December 2005 in Rabigh, 200 km north of Jeddah, (which is named after King Abdullah) focused on promoting energy- and transportation-related industries, while the second economic city launched in Hail in June 2006 (named after Prince Abdul Aziz bin Mousaed) is designed around transportation and related logistical services. The third city in Madinah, which was also launched in June 2006, captures the essence of SAGIA’s third focus, knowledge-based industries, said Dabbagh.
