JEDDAH, 23 June 2007 — Plans have been made to build new fully-fledged housing development “cities” with modern living facilities in and around Jeddah in order to reduce pressure on the city. The move is part of a 50-year strategic plan for the rapidly expanding city.
Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakieh presented the plan to Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, sources said, adding that the plan was designed to meet Jeddah’s demographic and development requirements for the next 50 years.
“The Jeddah plan is first of its kind in town planning in the whole Kingdom,” the mayor said.
The plan has envisaged the Jeddah governorate’s population to reach 9.2 million by 2052 with Jeddah having six million. The rest will be distributed among South Jeddah (500,000), Bahra (750,000,) Asfan (250,000), Dahban (one million) and Thoul (500,000), the sources said.
“The Jeddah Municipality had three options to meet the city’s population explosion: Focus on development; expand to other areas in the governorate; or establish new cities. It selected the third option, which is establishment of new cities,” one source said.
This is Jeddah’s sixth strategic development plan. The first plan covering 700 square kilometers was set in 1963 while the last one covering 2,350 square kilometers was prepared in 2004.
In his first meeting with Fakieh and officials of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) after taking charge as Makkah governor, Prince Khaled was briefed on Jeddah’s problems and requirements.
“The governor expressed his readiness to visit the disorganized districts of the city and find solutions for them,” JCCI Chairman Saleh Al-Turki said.
The Jeddah Municipality presented its new plans and projects to the governor, including the establishment of a new company owned by the municipality to solve the problems being faced with rampant and unregulated development in the city and provide low-cost housing units to the needy. Fakieh also briefed the governor on new road projects being carried out by his municipality to ensure a smooth flow of traffic in different parts of city.
The mayor also disclosed plans to establish three new industrial cities in Jeddah. The first of the three, spread over an area of 44 million square meters, will be established along the Old Makkah Road, behind the Bahra highway overpass.
The Saudi Authority for Industrial Estates and Technology Zones (SAIETZ), meanwhile, is working with the private sector to develop the third industrial city in an area of eight million square meters in Alkhamra, in southern Jeddah.
The JCCI is holding talks with the Saudi Seaports Authority (SSA) to develop the fourth industrial zone in an area of 2.4 million square meters owned by SSA near the chamber’s warehouses.
SAIETZ said the new industrial zones were planned to give room for new investment projects. It said the third industrial zone would be established close to King Faisal Airbase, about 50 km south of downtown Jeddah and will be carried out in three phases. Chemical and plastic industries will take 28 percent of the third zone, mineral industries 20 percent, wood industries 13 percent and food industries 10 percent.
