Adnan Mandoura, secretary general of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said the new industrial city would contribute to increasing the number of industries in the city by 30 percent.

"According to preliminary estimates there will be about 400 industries in the new city, especially those specialized in computers, information technology and communications," he added.

Mandoura said the JCCI spearheaded the new industrial city following demands by businessmen to establish new industries. "We had presented an application to Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Prince Naif in this respect about one and a half years ago," he said.

He said the new industrial city would create thousands of new job opportunities to Saudis. It will also help acquire more technology in various industries. "We expect setting up of giant industries in the future."

The present industrial city in Jeddah, which has undergone five phases of development, currently houses more than 1,000 industries, which produce a variety of consumer goods including foodstuffs, plastic products, household utensils and medicines.

Abdul Khaliq Saeed, an industrial investor and a member of JCCI, said he was planning to establish industries for perfumes and medicines in the new city. "Establishment of new factories in the Kingdom will help reduce imports," he pointed out. He said the Saudi Industrial Development Fund has given soft loans worth SR6.5 billion to new industrial projects in the Kingdom.