Arab News    August 11, 2008    Khalil Hanware - JEDDAH: Madinah Knowledge Economic City (KEC), a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s pride and an icon of successful diversification of the Kingdom’s economy, has geared up to attract investors and joint ventures to the mammoth project.

The SR30 billion KEC project, which is located in Madinah, has a special significance for Muslims throughout the world because of its location. The diversity of the city’s main components as well as its focus on the development of knowledge-based industries promise to make the project a landmark for Muslims worldwide and provide investors with sound returns on investment opportunities, Tahir Mohammed Bawazir, CEO, Knowledge Economic City Developers Company Ltd., said in an exclusive interview with Arab News.

Madinah KEC was established by the King Abdullah Foundation, Savola Group, Quad International Real Estate Development Company, Project Management Development Company (PMDC), and Taiba Investment and Real Estate Development Co. to be a landmark and national icon for knowledge-based industry development in Saudi Arabia, Bawazir said. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah pays special attention to the city of Madinah, as it aims to create a categorical leap in the economic development of the region, he added.

KEC is designed in such a way that it will position Saudi Arabia and young Saudi entrepreneurs as internationally respected leaders in knowledge-based industries, Bawazir said.

Madinah KEC is one of six economic cities being developed across the Kingdom to boost regional development and provide employment for the country’s growing population. The 4.8 million square meter project is located about 5 km east of Haram and 7 km from Madinah airport.

“The city will create more than 20,000 jobs and 30,000 residences accommodating up to 150,000 people. It is an ambitious, challenging, creative, exciting and essential project that reaches out to people of all cultures and background around the world,” Bawazir said.

The jobs to be created by all the new entities in KEC will be mainly in IT, education, health and hospitality sectors, which will focus on talent in the high-income bracket.

“Given our current construction planning to date, we expect the first units to be available to investors by Q2 of next year,” Bawazir said.

KEC will provide among others, a centralized business district making it possible to run high-end businesses from KEC. The advanced learning institutions in KEC will support development of the local youth and provide stronger and better work opportunities. A major retail hub themed after the old souks of Madinah is to be developed and includes provision for 1,200 shops giving it great appeal to consumers from around the world.

KEC will be built in three different phases. Each phase should take about four years to complete so the full project will be ready by 2020, he added.

A number of national contracting companies are taking part in the first phase of the project, which involves the construction of 200 villas and 600 apartments.

Madinah KEC has been declared a special economic zone under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) enabling a friendly, attractive and state-of-the-art environment for business. It also provides robust and flexible regulatory/legal frameworks for conducting business within the zone.

KEC will be launching Phase 1 in 2009 comprising high-end villas, apartments with retail stores, commercial, hotel and educational institutions, Bawazir said.

While putting emphasis on the “smart city” concept, Bawazir said the KEC would be managed through an integrated operations center (IOC).

“The IOC is the brain of the city where complete automation of the home and office basically offers a better quality of life and enhance productivity,” he added. The services provided by the smart city are translated into the facilitation of many of the activities of our daily lives. Whether at home, work, school, or simply out shopping, residents in KEC will benefit from the services and easy access to information through high-speed broadband infrastructure, he said, adding that the whole city is online.

The smart city will have the benefits that will be enjoyed by all residents and tenants. The interconnected buildings offer shared services that will increase safety, security and productivity, as well as reduce capital expenditure and operating expenses, he said.

KEC recently signed an agreement with NCB Capital and Swicorp to list KEC on the Saudi stock market, thus enabling citizens to share in the success of the project.

“In the first boom of 1970s, the government was main driver, but now private sector is playing vital role in the Kingdom’s economic development,” Bawazir said. “Economic cities provide vast opportunity for private sector to get involved in gigantic projects,” he added.