JEDDAH: An economic study suggests that Makkah province has the potential to create one million jobs over the next 10 years, Al-Madinah daily reported.
“The study outlining the strategic plan for the development of Makkah province provides the road map for the projects that could be undertaken in the province providing employment for one million Saudi youths in 10 years,” Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakieh, who is also the chairman of the Economic Committee of Makkah Province, said in a workshop on the economic situation of the province organized by the mayoralty on Wednesday.
The study was undertaken at the directive of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and prepared in collaboration with Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). “The tourism sector has the highest potential for development and employment in the region, as the number of foreign visitors to the region would grow annually at the rate of 8 percent and the number of domestic visitors would grow at the rate of 3 percent. The number of foreign tourists in 2007 was 6.5 million and domestic tourists was 1.4 million in the same period,” the report noted.
The study demanded full utilization of employment potentials of Haj and Umrah seasons in addition to marketing locally made goods, which in turn would create more employment particularly in the small and medium enterprises.
The study also pointed out the potential offered by the Haramain Railway Project linking Makkah and Madinah with faster and cheaper commuting services. The study highlighted the importance of the province as a center of scenic and medical tourism apart from its religious significance. Jeddah and other coastal towns provided excellent centers of scenic beauty and coral diving. Jeddah also figures high in medical tourism. The study, to be presented to Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal in three weeks time in its final form, stressed the significance of tapping the employment potential of women and pushing up their share to 50 percent of the total work force.
Discussing the ways to attract women in large numbers to the work force, the study underscored the need for removing social and legal obstacles in employing them besides offering them training for jobs suitable for them and encouraging them with stipends and loans for technical training or self- employment.
