RIYADH, 25 October 2005 — Bidding on land for the Kingdom’s first technology zone will start at the beginning of December, according to the Saudi Organization for Industrial Estates & Technology Zones (SOIETZ). The Dammam Technology Zone (DTZ), expected to be ready for occupation in 2007, will be Saudi Arabia’s first technology park. It will be located on a 3.5 million sq. meter site in the Dammam Second Industrial Estate which is located in the estate’s northern corner. The DTZ will be developed and operated by the private sector under a build-operate-and-transfer contract (BOT) to ensure the highest level of standards and efficiency.
According to SOIETZ, the DTZ’s designated area is near a major highway and is well connected to all important landmarks in the Eastern Province such as Saudi Aramco and King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals, King Fahd International Airport, Dammam Seaport and the King Fahd Causeway to Bahrain.
At a news conference yesterday, the director general of SOIETZ, Abdullah Al-Saif announced the engineering firms which had won some of the prizes offered for designing the Dammam Technology Zone.
SOIETZ announced that the first prize had not been awarded because the judges did not feel any designs deserved the prize. It also said that by not announcing the first prize winner, opportunities would still be open to other architecture firms to propose their designs.
The second prize was awarded to Abdulhadi & Al-Moaibed Consulting and Design Engineers firm. The firm received an award of SR100,000 for their design of the future technology park. The third prize was awarded to the Saudi Tech. Co. The prize was a check for SR50,000 for their proposed design. Ayman Kayal, deputy director general for technology zones, said that establishing technology zones in other areas of the world has had its enormous economic and industrial benefits. He pointed out that the reason behind a contest for designing the Dammam Technology Zone was to involve as many local engineering firms to participate as possible. These firms would receive experience by completing designs and tendering them according to the provided specifications.
Responding to a question on the cost of constructing the infrastructure of the zone, Al-Saif said it was hard to determine the exact cost since the projects would be offered for lease to private investors under BOT. He said that investors would come forward and present their best project offers for lease per square meter. SOIETZ would then be authorized to take the lowest bid. He said the estimated cost for the entire project if a square meter were rented for SR75 per meter was between SR300 million and SR400 million.
Al-Saif also said that after the Dammam Technology Zone, two other technology zones would be constructed in Riyadh and in Jeddah over the next five years. The three technology zones will have a total space of 10 million square meters. He said foreign investors or firms were also welcome to invest in the Dammam Technology Zone according to the laws of the Kingdom.
