Nidal Jamjoom, chief executive officer – Emaar, The Economic City speaks to Gulf Construction on the ongoing developments within Saudi Arabia’s largest investment project.

GCM: What is the current area of the project?
Jamjoom: King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) spreads over 168 million sq m making it the largest private sector development in the Gulf region.

GCM: What are the additional components introduced when the project was expanded?
Jamjoom: Upon expansion of land area, the original masterplan has been revised. The new masterplan envisages six key components for KAEC: The Sea Port; Industrial Zone; Central Business District (a mixed-use zone including commercial, hotel, retail and Financial Island); Resort District; Educational Zone and Residential Communities (including corniche and suqs).

GCM: What prompted the decision to expand the KAEC?
Jamjoom: KAEC is the single largest private sector development in Saudi Arabia and has been inspired by the vision of King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz Al Saud to energise the kingdom’s economy. King Abdullah had instructed that the project must serve the largest possible number of Saudis and expand in its size and scope of operations accordingly.

GCM: What work is currently under way at the site?
Jamjoom: We have conducted more than 45 studies for the designing of the buildings, facilities and infrastructure in addition to environmental and traffic impact studies and power and water needs for the project.
Currently, work is under way to build 1,040 apartments in the Red Sea Village, a Residential Community that will offer high standards for living and work. The Red Sea Village canal is nearing completion and tenders are being finalised for the Industrial Park infrastructure.
Work has been completed earlier this year on the Presentation Centre and a 15-km access road. Model apartments are being finished for potential investors to have a true-to-type feel of the residential amenities at KAEC, the largest private sector project in the region.
Emaar EC has awarded operation and maintenance contracts for the Presentation Centre, utilities yard and landscaping. Contract for the construction of the main city gate has also been awarded.
Design and co-ordination work for the 18-hole golf course that is part of the Resort District is currently being finalised. The golf course and a series of villas will be completed later this year.

GCM: When are the tenders for the main contracts going to be issued?
Jamjoom: Major contracts will be issued to build phase one of the project for the construction of apartments, villas and townhomes; a five-star resort hotel, a shopping centre; phase one of the industrial park, excavation and quay wall construction for the container sea port; developing an 18-hole championship golf course; canals and boulevards.

GCM: When is work on the infrastructure going to start?
Jamjoom: Infrastructure work will be accorded priority and will go alongside the construction of the key components. KAEC is being developed as the first Smart City and tenders are being issued for laying down the Information and Communications Technology network. Contracts and design for coast link roads and other utilities are also being finalised.

GCM: What are the components that will be built by the developer?
Jamjoom: Emaar EC, as the developer of KAEC, envisages the most modern environment for the project comprising a well-established network of roads, telecom network and other utilities. These will be executed in co-operation with the concerned government authorities, wherever applicable.

GCM: The project will employ state-of-the-art technology … can you please elaborate?
Jamjoom: We are currently drawing out details of the Smart City approach, which will be one of the highlights of KAEC. Several information communication and technology institutes are suggesting solutions that will create a tech-savvy environment here, ideal for industries and businesses to thrive.
KAEC plans to integrate all its services through one call centre. All modern conveniences in telecommunication including mobile connectivity, fibre lines, video conferencing facilities and wireless Internet solutions will be offered at KAEC. Other e-driven solutions include e-logistics support of traffic and fleet management; e-security solutions including whole city monitoring; e-commerce facilities; e-media including cable television and electronic billboards; telemedicine facilities; e-education options; smart home integration and e-climate management in the form of smart reactions to city climate. KAEC will also have a wi-fi feedback module that enables to interact with the environment and people swiftly.
By integrating IT capabilities in its development, KAEC will become the safest city in the world and also create an R&D environment that will help disseminate new ICT solutions to other regions globally.

GCM: Who are the architects for the project?  
Jamjoom: RSP Architects, masterplanners of KAEC, worked on the revision of the overall masterplan of the project. Additional detailed masterplanning has been provided by other renowned architects for resorts and residential zones, for the city centre and the Industrial Zone.