Pilgrims from all over the world are returning to their respective home countries with stories about a comfortable Haj experience. It seems our developers in the Kingdom are feeling inspired by the marvels in the neighboring GCC countries, such as the 800-meter tall towers and palm shaped islands. The Kingdom is now focused on the development of the vision of Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

We at The KIN Consortium are studying the feasibility of the growing list of over 603 projects currently slated for 2011 that includes infrastructure, agriculture, utilities, mining, real estate development, education, and the list goes on. As a financier I am particularly excited about the projects in the Western region, simply because it has earned revenue on a consistent basis from Islamic tourism for over 1,432 years.

Another historical fact is that when millions of pilgrims arrive on an annual basis there is a flood of flu epidemics, and sales of pharmaceuticals tend to escalate along with visits to physicians and hospitals. This trend in particular is the focus of this article. King Abdullah's vision encompasses a series of state of the art facilities ranging from manufacturing to distribution outlets. In terms of the best government sponsored hospitals and private sector hospitals in Jeddah, we find both the King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital and the prominent Dr. Walid Fitaihi's International Medical Center.

On the other hand, in terms of the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector we find manufacturers of both brand name and generic pharmaceuticals. The Saudi Pharmaceutical Industry & Med. Appliances Corp. is just one of the companies in the Kingdom that is leading the charge to both importing and producing pharmaceutical goods and equipment. These are all vital components to building a self-sufficient vertically integrated healthcare system. It seems that all that is left is the engineering and building of the diagnostic materials like Siemens and Toshiba, which I am sure are all slated as a part of the comprehensive vision.

However, in an attempt to build a complete end-to-end solution, King Abdullah has invested in human capital by offering medical students scholarships to both the US and Canada. The young students are lucky to be sponsored to attend the best training at universities like George Washington and McGill. It is this type of hands on experience with the latest technologies and methods that will build the platform for the Saudi state of the art healthcare program. The Kingdom will combine both spiritual healing and physical healing.

Welcome to the evolution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
 
(Khalid I. Natto ([email protected]) is chairman & CEO of The KIN Consortium.)