Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, the Emir of Madina; Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor of SAGIA; and Ibrahim Bin Mohammed Al-Issa, Chairman, KEC Madina, visited the site of Knowledge Economic City-Madina on Tuesday. Their visit marked the beginning of the first phase of KEC project that would see the construction of buildings and infrastructural facilities. The construction works have begun following the endorsement of the project documents by SAGIA (Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority). After inspecting the site, Prince Abdul Aziz said that the Knowledge Economic City-Madina is one of the “result” of the directives that the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah gave after attaining the throne. He expressed the hope that KEC will attract Muslim scholars from different parts of the Arab & Islamic countries. He further said the project fulfills King Abdullah's ambition to see KEC as a remarkable landmark for the residents and visitors to Madina. “Once completed, it will be a national pride for Saudi Arabia. It will be known as a knowledge-based industrial complex of international repute,” he added. Dabbagh said the visit to the KEC site was part of the visits that he was undertaking to see the progress made at various economic cities in the Kingdom. Reputable contracting firms have been selected to ensure perfect implementation of the project, he said, adding that the project directors have finalized all the contractual agreements for the first phase of the project. The project is moving forward as planned and scheduled, he said. SAGIA is working to turn the city into an international center for knowledge-based activities, he added. Al-Issa said “this visit will motivate and encourage KEC management and staff as well as contractors to exert more efforts to complete the project on time.” He emphasized that KEC was taking all measures to ensure completion of the first-of-its-kind project at its scheduled time. KEC will create a rapid qualitative leap in the region and contribute in generating investment opportunities to support economic growth of Madina in particular and the whole of Saudi Arabia in general, he added. A number of national contracting companies are taking part in the first phase of the project which will see construction of 100 villas and 300 apartments. Total area allocated for the whole project, including the first phase, is about 4.8 million square meters. The project offers distinct investment opportunities to businesses in Madina. KEC-Madina is one of four economic cities being developed in Saudi Arabia to boost regional development and provide employment for the country's growing population by focusing on intellectual property, knowledge-based industries, medical, hospitality, tourism and multimedia.KEC's site is located 5 kms from the Prophet's Mosque and 7 km from airport. Expected total investment mounts to SR30 billions ($8 billion.). KEC will provide 20,000 job opportunities for the residents of Madina. __
