JEDDAH — Amr Al-Dabbagh has received a four-year extension as governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), it was announced yesterday. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah issued a royal decree extending Al-Dabbagh’s term.
The king also renewed the term of Dr. Nasser Al-Salloum, secretary-general of the commission for the development of Makkah, Madinah and other holy sites, for four years. Both Al-Dabbagh and Al-Salloum hold ministerial ranks.
Al-Dabbagh, who was first appointed SAGIA governor in March 2004, is the main architect of Saudi Arabia’s mega economic cities in Rabigh, Hail, Madinah and Jizan, that are expected to draw investments worth SR300 billion and create more than a million jobs.
A leading Saudi businessman and former president and CEO of the Jeddah-based Dabbagh Group of Companies, he has played an important role in promoting SAGIA as a gateway to investment in Saudi Arabia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School.
SAGIA aims at attracting investment with a view to achieving rapid economic growth while capitalizing on the Kingdom’s position as the global capital of energy, and as a major industrial hub between the East and the West. It also endeavors to position Saudi Arabia among the top 10 most competitive nations by 2010.
