King Abdullah Economic City, a $27 billion development on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, will open its port next year, a port official said. The port will have a capacity of 1.5 million containers a year, Hamdi Nadhrah, head of business development at the Red Sea Gateway Terminal in Jeddah, told a Middle East Economic Digest conference in Abu Dhabi.
With massive multi-billion dollar regional developments underway such as Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City, poor project requirements can unnecessarily cause developers and their contractors valuable time, money and jobs, according to a leading project management expert.
Additionally, as mega-projects at the King Abdullah Economic City north of Jidda and King Abdullah Financial District on the outskirts of Riyadh kick into high gear, more opportunities for work in the Middle East will become a reality.
Saudi Arabia’s five planned economic cities, including the 173 square km King Abdullah Economic City, will become a major target of these investments, according to Grant Rogan, the chief executive of Blenheim Capital Partners, a consulting and financial advisory firm that specializes in defense deals. Other high-interest areas include education, information and communications technology and homeland security.
he planned infrastructure expenditures on these mega cities are enormous, totalling some $140 billion in the first phase. The largest is the King Abdullah Economic City at Rabigh on the Red Sea coast, with a planned area of 168 million sq meters and $ 80 billion in basic infrastructure cost.
Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (Sagia) has signed a letter of intent with US-based Georgia Institute of Technology to build a Saudi campus to be ready for opening next year, according to press reports. Located in King Abdullah Economic City – a residential and industrial hub being built north of Jeddah on the Red Sea – the new campus will focus on supporting an industrial base in the Economic City, particularly the aerospace, electronic and engineering industries.
The inaugural Hotelier Middle East Great GM Debate was lauded by some of the region’s top hoteliers on Wednesday. Held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the event provided workshops for GMs with feedback sessions and panel discussions. Plans are already in place to take the event to Saudi Arabia in December and involve more general managers from across the GCC.
With massive multi-billion dollar regional developments underway such as Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City, poor project requirements can unnecessarily cause developers and their contractors valuable time, money and jobs, according to a leading project management expert.
King Abdullah Economic City, a $27 billion development on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, will open its port next year, a port official said. The port will have a capacity of 1.5 million containers a year, Hamdi Nadhrah, head of business development at the Red Sea Gateway Terminal in Jeddah, told a Middle East Economic Digest conference in Abu Dhabi.
No passengers booked to travel with Sama were left “high and dry” by the Saudi budget carrier following the airline’s collapse in August, said Asim Arshad, CEO of Orient Travel which acts as GSA (General Sales Agent) for the carrier in the UAE. Many passengers were due to travel back from Umrah pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia with Sama, druing the peak Ramadan season, when the airline was forced to cease business on August 24 following heavy losses.
5.05
5.90
3.67