JEDDAH, 21 November 2006 — Saudi Arabia’s fifth economic city will be in the northern region of Tabuk and will be launched during the upcoming visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to the region, informed sources said.
The new city, which is expected to draw billions of riyals in investment and create thousands of new jobs, will boost Tabuk’s overall development.
In less than a year, King Abdullah has launched four economic cities in Rabigh, Hail, Madinah and Jizan, heralding a new era of regional development. The first city named after King Abdullah focuses on promoting energy- and transportation-related industries, while the second (Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Mousaed Economic City) on transportation and related logistical services.
The third city in Madinah, which was launched in June 2006, will house knowledge-based industries (KBIs). The Jizan Economic City (JEC), which was inaugurated by the king earlier this month while he was on tour of the south, will have a port, an industrial zone, a logistic service center, an energy/desalination plant and a residential zone.
The four cities, according to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), are expected to attract investments worth more than SR300 billion ($80 billion) and create more than a million jobs within the next 10 to 20 years. “The economic city projects are in line with our strategy to promote investments into the country’s sectors that propose the best competitive advantages, namely, energy, transportation and KBIs,” said SAGIA Governor Amr Dabbagh.
New Red Crescent Chief
Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah has been appointed president of the Saudi Red Crescent Society with the rank of a minister, the Royal Court announced yesterday. King Abdullah made the appointment on the recommendation of Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie. A graduate of the American University in London, Faisal has worked as director general of the documents and information department at the National Guard and adviser to the intelligence director.