“We’re very much impressed by the KAUST project and the way it is making rapid progress since its opening (on Sept. 23, 2009),” Gobet told Arab News on the sidelines of a reception held for the delegation by Swiss Consul General Hans Stalder at his residence. Gobet and his team interacted with top executives of both projects.
“While we find there is tremendous scope for us to participate in some of the major development projects of the Kingdom, our delegates showed particular interest in KAEC, a new city being built today for tomorrow’s generation of Saudi citizens. There is great potential for us and other overseas companies, as the project has six components — sea port, industrial valley, educational zone, central business district with commercial, mixed-use, retail outlets and financial island, resorts and residential area,” he said.
The delegation was told that the mega-project works closely with the Kingdom’s ongoing drive to expand the economy create employment opportunities for its youthful population and function as a catalyst to attract foreign investment, global trade, commerce and industry. Based on initial forecasts, the project and its several components will create up to one million employment opportunities in the various industries and service-oriented companies that will open in KAEC. It will also be home to two million residents. Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, the body responsible for inward investments into the Kingdom, is the prime facilitator for KAEC.
Sylvie Leger, also of OPI, said the delegation from Geneva and other parts of western Switzerland specialized in highly sophisticated instruments and technologies. “We hope to make inroads into the Saudi market with our high quality and sophisticated products,” Leger added. The delegates, who earlier toured Riyadh, represented companies actively engaged in information and communication technology, health-care instruments and industrial machinery. “Our current mission is to evaluated business opportunities across the Kingdom. This is the beginning of a series of visits we plant to undertake. We’ll come again to interact with local partners for possible business deals and partnerships in the days to come,” Christian D. Watts, diplomatic counselor and regional director of Swiss Trade & Investment Promotion, Dubai, said.
