The 22 members, who had come from 10 countries, were on a tour of the work in progress at the new city with the support of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority’s (SAGIA) Gov. Amr Al-Dabbagh and Fahd Al-Rasheed, CEO of the Tadawul-listed company developing KAEC, Emaar — The Economic City.
In his presentation Al-Rasheed reviewed the progress of work at KAEC from 2007 and gave an update on residential units at Bay La Sun, land plots in the Industrial Valley, offices at the Business Park as well as retail space throughout the city.
He added that the seaport at KAEC, located next to the Red Sea, has been designed to play an essential role in linking Europe, Africa and Asia.
Located in close proximity to Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah, KAEC seaport will serve more than 250 million consumers across the region. Peter Provenzano, director of supply core ME and YPO delegate, said: “The KAEC’s vision of success is world class. The implementation that you’ve started is very impressive. So there is no doubt in my mind that the city will be successful, because Saudi Arabia has the resources to materialize this world class vision.”
“I genuinely felt proud to be Saudi, knowing that a project the scale and magnitude of King Abdullah Economic City is materializing in my country. The opportunities present in KAEC will yield excellent returns on investment and contribute to the economic growth and prosperity in the Kingdom,” commented Salman Al Jishi, the Saudi YPO member who is also president of the Salman Commercial Group and head of the industrial committee at the Asharqia (Eastern Province) Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
KAEC is coming to life as a large number of companies and organizations including Emaar have already started carrying out their daily operations in the city. The first wave of residents is settling down, becoming the core of KAEC’s future communities.