The governor, who is also the chairman of the Higher Commission for Hail Development (HCHD), said: “KAEC has maintained the pace of its progress and it should be an inspiration for the builders of other planned economic cities, including the Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musaed Economic City in Hail.” KAEC, with its projects of tremendous importance to the Kingdom, is the pride of the nation, he added. 

The governor, accompanied by a delegation including Prince Abdullah bin Khaled, deputy chairman of the HCHD, was received by Amr Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), which has planned the development of the six economic cities, and Fahd Al-Rasheed, managing director and CEO of Emaar EC, the Tadawul-listed company developing the KAEC.

Al-Rasheed gave a presentation on the KAEC’s  “60x24x7 Program” under which all government services are made available to investors, both national and international, in a period of not more than 60 minutes around the clock, every day of the week. “The program has been designed to make investments in various projects of the city attractive,” he added. Al-Rasheed also reviewed the stages of construction at KAEC's various projects, as well as its achievements over the past three years.

He added that life in KAEC started in reality after several people started moving into its residential complexes. Also contributing to the momentum was the process of handing over of industrial land to investors in the industrial valley of the city, he said.

KAEC recently hosted a high-level delegation of US Congress. It also lately completed 50 km of road in the city and as part of its landmark development it started its “Job Market Foundation Program” in partnership with the College of Business Administration.

The 10-week long program aims to train and develop high school graduates to better their chances in an increasingly demanding job market. The program is part of Emaar's corporate social responsibility commitment toward training and developing Saudi youth. The current program targets the youth of Rabigh in which 304 students were enrolled. The program consists of four main courses — Intensive Business English Language, Principles of IT, Principles of Management and Communication Skills.