Word: saudi
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...Dabbagh has no doubt that if he builds it, they will come. The governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) is one of the forces behind King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), a $27 billion development rising out of the desert 62 miles (100 km) north of Jeddah, and he can already envision the arrival of its first residents. "It won't be long before it starts taking shape," he says...
...Saudi Arabia is planning to build five of them. Simultaneously. KAEC serves as the flagship project. The Saudis plan for nothing less than to make the country more competitive globally, and they are willing to spend what it takes...
...Dabbagh and his backers insist they're not trying to out-Dubai Dubai--or anybody else--and that the new cities are meant to solve pressing economic and demographic problems: with 60% of its population under the age of 25, Saudi Arabia needs to create millions of jobs and homes for young people who will come of age in the next five years. This "youth bulge" will create a demand for 6 million residential units in the next 12 years; that's a million more units than were built in the past 60 years. "When you have demand on that...
...cities are the centerpiece of Saudi Arabia's plans to diversify its economy from oil and gas and to boost its manufacturing sector, especially in energy-intensive industries like aluminum and steel. KAEC, for instance, will have a $5 billion smelter built by the United Arab Emirates firm Dubal, one of the world's largest aluminum manufacturers. Another Emirates firm, Emaar, is the city's main developer; there's scarcely any government investment or involvement in the construction. Other companies that have signed up to invest include France's Total, Sweden's Ericsson and U.S. firm Capri Capital, which...
...Dubal project is a template for the kind of investment Saudi Arabia wants to attract: it will be 100% foreign-owned and will probably generate several downstream businesses. The ownership is crucial; in the past, the only way foreign companies could operate in the kingdom was through joint ventures and local agents--many of whom brought no skills and little capital to the partnership. With that barrier gone, al-Dabbagh hopes investors will pour in: he expects the new cities to generate more than $100 billion in foreign investment. Saudi businesses may kick in two or three times as much...