THE SR10 billion ($2.66 billion) state-of-the-art King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) in Saudi Arabia opened its doors to advanced research development and scientific learning last month.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz inaugurated the university located on a 9,000-acre campus, along the coast of the Red Sea in Thuwal, 80 km north of Jeddah. It will provide 20,000 people with access to advanced research and laboratory facilities, in addition to mosques, housing units, playgrounds, tennis courts, restaurants and recreational facilities.
The university will cater to graduate-level and doctoral students with research development focusing on areas such as energy and environment, engineering sciences, biosciences as well as mathematics and computer sciences.
Meanwhile, the Dow Chemical Company plans to set up the Dow Middle East R&D Centre at the university’s adjacent Research Park and Innovation Cluster.
Initial research at the centre will focus on water and water treatment technologies, eventually expanding its scope to oil and gas, processes research and development, and infrastructure materials. Substantial completion of the proposed state-of-the-art R&D centre, to be jointly designed by the partners, is expected by the end of next year.