King Abdullah Economic City: The Growth of New Sustainable City in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is one of the strategic countries in the Islamic worlds, and one of the top oil producers. KSA has formulated its 2030 vision, that expresses its long term goals, and expectations; reflecting the country’s strengths, and capabilities. The vision aims to increase the investments in real estate and infrastructure projects, as they will help the Kingdom build a strong industrial base to sustain its economy in the future, when oil reserves shrink. One of the basic development concepts is to build new cities, in an attempt to shape a better urban future for all, by generating and scaling new interventions through events, research and urban innovation projects.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has started on building four new economic cities, that resolve the housing and employment crisis, resulting from growing population, together with supporting economic diversification. King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is one of Saudi economic cities that is located in Rabigh. It is mainly established to represent an inclusive, connected, healthy, and vibrant city, that comprehensively satisfies all community needs, while sustaining good life quality standards.

In this Chapter, the author will present King Abdullah Economic City, and the main objectives, and principles of its development. In addition, there will be a brief about the challenges tackled, and methods of resolving them. Moreover, there will also be an elaboration on the opportunities offered by the KAEC for the community, while highlighting its future capability to become one of the largest sustainable cities in the Middle East.