MADINAH, 19 June 2006 -- Crown Prince Sultan, the deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, yesterday signed a contract with a national company to refurbish Yanbu airport at a total cost of SR188 million.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah had instructed that the airport be refurbished during his last visit to Yanbu. The project is part of the government's plan to link provincial cities of the Kingdom by air.

The first phase of the airport will be completed in 18 months.

The airport will cover an area of 8,500 sq. meters and will be equipped with new departure and arrival lounges from where passengers will be enable to embark and disembark planes directly.

The airport will also have new control towers, cargo facilities, security and safety systems, a power station and a mosque.

The signing followed the launch of the Knowledge Economic City (KEC) in Madinah by King Abdullah. The move is part of the efforts to develop various regions in the Kingdom thereby easing pressure off the infrastructure of the country's three main cities.

Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Governor Amr Dabbagh said that the aim of building the new economic city in Madinah is to attract foreign investment to the area.

Dabbagh said, "This vital project falls well within plans to upgrade the Kingdom's regions in a sustainable fashion taking into consideration each region's competitive advantages."

"Given Madinah's historic stance as the launch pad of Islamic culture by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) more than 14 centuries ago, the KEC will use Madinah to launch knowledge-based industries," added Dabbagh.

The Knowledge Economic City project is a culmination of efforts by a group of leading Saudi companies to develop an economic city to the east of Madinah that would become an international icon.

The city is being developed on 4.8-million sq. meters land while the built up area will near 9 million sq. meters attracting some SR25 billion ($6.7 billion) worth of investments. SAGIA says that the city will have 4,000 stores and 30,000 residential units that will house 200,000 inhabitants in total.

At the instruction of King Abdullah, SAGIA liaised with a consortium of Saudi investors led by the Savola Group to develop an economic city dedicated to knowledge-based industries (KBI). The consortium, which includes the Savola Group, PMDC, Taibah Investment & Real Estate Development Co., and Quad International Real Estate Development Co., along with the King Abdullah Foundation formed an investment vehicle to develop an economic city based on knowledge based industries (KBI).

Transportation within KEC will be facilitated via a ring road above which rises a monorail connecting the city to the neighboring Grand Mosque of Madinah within minutes. This monorail will be tethered to the planned train station thus tapping into the railway access to Makkah, Yanbu, the King Abdullah Economic City as well as the port city of Jeddah.

SAGIA has played a pivotal role in the conceptualization of the project. "The king's vision to develop an economic city based on KBI is a forward looking step and the development will boost the region's chances to attract investments," commented Dabbagh.

Dabbagh pointed out that the three economic cities launched by SAGIA are in line with its strategy of promoting investments into the Kingdom's sectors that propose the best competitive advantages, namely energy, transportation, and KBI.

By Razan Baker

© Arab News 2006