He said the city’s demographic and geographic features are factors that would play a major role in achieving this objective.
“The center of the holy city of Makkah has unique geographical characteristics — first it is the home of one of the two holy mosques, second it is near the resort city of Taif and third, it is positioned near the commercial city of Jeddah,” Al-Sultan pointed out.
Speaking at the ‘Future Makkah’ forum in Jeddah, he also said Makkah currently accounted for 11 percent of the Kingdom’s GDP and 21 percent of nonoil national products in industrial, educational and religious services sectors.
More than 26 percent of the Kingdom’s factories are also located in Makkah — another proof of its remarkable contribution to the Kingdom’s economy, Al-Sultan said.
He cited nonoil exports and mining as the most promising sectors for future investments and stressed that these areas, along with the city’s transportation sector, should be strengthened further.
The secretary-general also said the city has very active real estate, commercial and tourist sectors with the potential to export oil and gas, through a link with Egypt.
“However, this proposal is not without obstacles that are primarily demographic,” Al-Sultan said, adding that there is a lack of balance — between citizens and expatriates — in the make-up of the holy city’s population.
He said the current annual population growth rate in the city among citizens is around 1.6 percent whereas the number of non-Saudis is growing at a rate of 4.2 percent per year.
Expatriates form 40 percent of the city’s population, posing a major challenge in terms of housing needs, he said.
Al-Sultan said Makkah could still emerge as an economic hub despite the challenges with proper strategies.
The secretary-general stressed that the city should also also utilize its youth’s potential in addressing its key challenges.
Al-Sultan proposed that a special national program should be implemented to foster urban development in the center of the city with the aim of creating a “balance in all dimensions.”
He also called for the setting up of more universities and science centers. Additional steps are also needed to solve housing issues, he said.
He said the quality of water and sanitation services should also be improved to strengthen Makkah’s drive to become an economic hub in the Kingdom.
