JEDDAH, 12 October 2006 — The Emaar Economic City has significantly expanded the size of its largest-ever development in the Middle East, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia, by nearly four times to cover an area of over 168 million sq m and unveiled a new master plan.
The Tadawul-listed company has modified the KAEC master plan to make substantial additions to its six major components — the Port, Industrial District, Central Business District (including commercial, mixed-use, retail and financial island), Resort, Educational Zone and Residential (including Corniche and souks). The expansion will help generate more employment opportunities for Saudis, enhance foreign direct investment and boost the Kingdom’s economy.
The EEC board of directors met on Tuesday in Jeddah and approved the ambitious growth program in addition to outlining the scope of expansion of the various zones within the project.
“King Abdullah Economic City is the single largest private sector development in Saudi Arabia and has been inspired by the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to energize the Kingdom’s economy,” said Emaar Chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar. “King Abdullah had instructed that the project must serve the largest possible number of Saudis and expand in its size and scope of operations accordingly.”
KAEC is expected to usher into the Kingdom a new era of economic prosperity. Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the body responsible for inward investment to the Kingdom, is the prime facilitator of KAEC.
Following the expansion, the project has the potential to generate one million jobs for Saudi citizens and will serve as home to two million residents. The jobs created will be in industrial and light industries (330,000), research and development (150,000), business and office (200,000), services (115,000), hospitality (60,000), and education and community services (145,000).
KAEC is situated on a greenfield site on the Red Sea coast. It offers easy access to Makkah and Madinah and is also close to Jeddah. “We’re creating a new nerve-center for global businesses that look at Saudi Arabia for the investment opportunities provided by the Kingdom,” said Alabbar.
“This aligns with the vision outlined by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to make the Kingdom among the top 10 most competitive nations in the world by 2010,” added Alabbar. “United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has already ranked Saudi Arabia number one in inward foreign direct investment in the Arab world.”
“This expansion is a landmark move for EEC, which has gained the trust of the Saudi citizens,” said EEC CEO Nidal Jamjoom. “Every component of the project is being scaled up corresponding to the addition of the land. This expansion will eventually translate into more business opportunities for Saudis as well as overseas investors.”
RSP Architects, master planners of King Abdullah Economic City, has revised the overall master plan of the project. Additional detailed master planning was provided by WATG for resorts and residential zones, SOM for the city center and Parsons International for the industrial zone.
“Covering 13.8 million sq meters, a major increase of 11.2 million sq m from the earlier project, the seaport will be the largest in the region with a capacity of over 10 million 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers per year, which is significantly higher than all other regional ports,” said Alabbar. “The port will have facilities to handle cargo and dry bulk, and will be equipped to receive the world’s largest vessels. Another key component of the port will be a custom-built Haj Terminal.”
Following the expansion, the Industrial District will cover 40 million sq m — five times more than previously envisaged. The 4,000 hectares of land will be dedicated to industrial and light-manufacturing facilities, identified as key growth drivers for the Saudi economy, and can now host 2,700 industrial tenants. The Industrial District will have specific initiatives to encourage local entrepreneurs through incubator-like modules. International experts have been consulted to ensure that the Industrial Zone development is in line with best environmental practices.
The Central Business District (CBD) will offer 3.8 million sq m of office space, hotels and mixed-use commercial space. The Financial District, within the CBD, has now been doubled in area to cover 14 hectares of land, which will be the largest regional financial nerve center for the world’s leading banks, investment houses and insurance groups.
The retail component of KAEC takes a quantum jump following the expansion of the project. From an area of 3.3 million sq m, the total retail facilities will now spread to cover 8.7 million sq m and house over 50,000 shops, nearly three times the earlier estimate.
The Hospitality zone will be another strategic component of the new expansion with the number of hotel rooms and suites being increased from 12,000 rooms in 60 hotels to 25,000 hotel rooms in more than 120 hotels. An ideal place to work and live, the KAEC will now have 250,000 apartments and 25,000 villas, a leap from 110,000 apartments and 16,000 villas.
Building on the socio-cultural environment demanded of living environments, KAEC will have 550 mosques including several grand mosques in the residential zones. Several schools will be opened to cater for the educational needs of children in each community apart from a university campus for 18,000 students. A sports stadium will also be part of the project, which will have 45,000 seats.
