JEDDAH, 5 June 2007 — Intel’s new generation of Ultra Mobile Personal Computers (UMPC) are expected to become a unifying factor for knowledge workers at Knowledge Economic City Madinah. The global IT corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide its best technology to Knowledge Economic City (KEC), which will include UMPCs — small personal computers the size of a PDA.
Signing on Intel Corporation’s behalf, General Manager for Saudi Arabia Ferhad Patel remarked that Knowledge Economic City was rapidly developing as a center of excellence for ICT development in the Middle East and Intel was keen to be part of it.
“We recognize the opportunities that the youthful demographics of MENA as a whole provide and the potential for Knowledge Economic City as a Smart City,” Patel said.
KEC Chief Executive Officer Tahir Bawazir, signing on behalf of KEC, advised that the Intel MOU would result in accelerated access to technology for everyone, which was a key factor in keeping Knowledge Economic City out in front.
“KEC’s collaboration with Intel and other key international IT innovators with whom we are formalizing relationships will ensure that we achieve our objective of becoming a world leader in the ICT arena,” Bawazir said.Access to the latest in computing hardware is of major importance to KEC’s Chief Technology Officer Mohammed Shah who has the responsibility for developing the infrastructure needed to provide seamless connectivity for KEC’s workers and residents.
“Our knowledge workers will be encouraged to use Intel’s UMPCs as a single source for all of their applications in our connected smart city, instead of having a pocket full of devices for different applications,” he commented.
The Intel agreement was the first of two memoranda of understanding signed by KEC. The second was with The Competitiveness Institute (TCI), a global authority on competitive economics and cluster development.
TCI President Dr. Lars Eklund explained that TCI’s mission was to improve living standards and the local competitiveness of regions throughout the world by fostering cluster-based development initiatives.
“Knowledge Economic City was an excellent example of this type of initiative and the perfect place for the institute to establish a regional headquarters,” Eklund stated. “KEC is the one of six economic cities being developed in regional areas of Saudi Arabia to create employment and drive economic development outside of the major cities of Riyadh and Jeddah.”
The SR25 billion KEC project is expected to create more than 20,000 jobs and accommodation for about 150,000 people. The project should bring about SR10 billion a year to the Madinah region once it is completed in 2020.
