King Abdullah Economic City مدينة الملك عبد الله الاقتصادية | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Waterfront in 2016 | |
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  King Abdullah Economic City Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | |
| Coordinates:22°24′N39°05′E / 22.400°N 39.083°E /22.400; 39.083 | |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Province | Mecca |
| Governorate | Rabigh |
| Established | 2005; 21 years ago (2005) |
| Government | |
| Area | |
• Total | 173 km2 (67 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 10,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+03:00 (SAST) |
| Postal Code | King Abdullah Economic City 23965 – 7461 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Area code | 012 |
| Website | www |
King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC,/ˈkeɪk/;Arabic:مدينة الملك عبد الله الاقتصادية) is a planned city inRabigh Governorate,Mecca Province,Saudi Arabia. It was announced as amegaproject in 2005 byKing Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. It is located in close proximity toThuwal, almost 100 km (62 mi) north of Jeddah.
It was one of six megaprojects that were announced in 2005 and is the only one that was launched. By 2018,The Financial Times wrote that the city had not attracted investment or become a hub for logistics and manufacturing, contrary to the grand plans behind the project.[2] By 2018, the city had a population of 7,000.[2]
With a total development area of 173 km² (66.8 sq mi), the city is located along the coast of theRed Sea, around 40 km south of Rabigh city and 100 km north ofJeddah, the commercial hub of Saudi Arabia. The city is also approximately an hour and 20 minutes away from the city ofMecca, 3 hours fromMedina by car and an hour away from allMiddle Eastern capital cities by plane.The total cost of the city is aroundSR 207 billion, with the project being built byEmaar Properties. ATadawul-listed company created from Emaar Properties, aDubai-based publicjoint stock company and one of the world’s largest real estate companies, andSAGIA (Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority) which is the main facilitator of the project.[citation needed]
The city, along with another five economic cities, is a part of an ambitious "10x10" program to place Saudi Arabia among the world's top ten competitive investment destinations by the year 2010, planned bySAGIA. The first stage of the city was completed in 2010 and the whole city was planned to be fully completed by 2020. The city aims to diversify the nation's oil-basedeconomy by bringing direct foreign and domestic investments. The city also aspires to help create up to one million jobs.[3][4] Upon completion, KAEC is intended to have a population of 2 million.[5][2] By 2018, it only had a population of 7,000.[2] TheFinancial Times wrote that the city served as a warning for grand megaprojects in the region, as the project fell well short of the initial grand proposals behind the project.[2]
It is being built along with four other new cities in Saudi Arabia to control sprawl and congestion in existing cities.[6]
The port of the city is part of the MaritimeSilk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via theSuez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region ofTrieste with its connections toCentral andEastern Europe.[7][8][9]
On 12 June 2008,King Abdullah visited the city and evaluated the progress. Some of the proposed projects in the city included:[10]
The king also inaugurated theKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The university is 20 km away south of the city in the village ofThuwal. It opened in September 2009.
Emaar, E.C. andSAGIA have signed severalmemorandums of understanding and contracts with international and local developers in many fields.
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Emaar, E.C has also launched two residential areas, Bay La Sun Village,[11] and Esmeralda Suburb.[12]
KAEC is served by theAl-Haramain High Speed line.[6] The construction of thestation has been completed by 2018. On 25 September 2018,King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud inaugurated the project.[13]
| Preceding station |  Saudi Arabia Railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medina Terminus | Haramain High Speed Railway | King Abdulaziz International Airport towardsMecca | ||
The city is the destination of Alan Clay, the protagonist inDave Eggers's 2012 novelA Hologram for the King.
Alberini C. (2011), "Urbanistica e Real Estate. Il ruolo della finanza nei processi di trasformazione urbana", Milano, Franco Angeli Ed., Cap.5 -Nuove realizzazioni e fondi di investimento: KAEC new towns nel deserto fondate sul petrolio (pag. 125-132).
 Main Saudi Arabian cities by population | |
|---|---|
| 1,000,000 and more | |
| 300,000-999,999 | |
| <300,000 | |
Source:cdsi.gov.sa | |
