Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The new Al-Faisaliah city, the plan for which was approved by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman recently, is expected to reduce pressure on Makkah and Jeddah in the coming 25 years.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Makkah Emir and Adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said that the Al-Faisaliah city project will provide 995,000 housing units and it will accommodate 6.5 million people by 2050.

The city will also provide one million jobs in different sectors including health, education, technology and services.

Al-Faisaliah, which will be located in the western part of Makkah, is an extension of Makkah and not a new city, Prince Khaled said.

The emir said that the city will have housing units, commercial centers, entertainment places and will provide health and education services. It will also have an airport that will be under King Abdul Aziz International Airport and a seaport that will be under Jeddah Islamic Port. The city will also have a train, a metro, trams and buses.

The project will be supervised by Makkah Region Development Authority.

Prince Khaled announced that they will start meetings and seminars with the private sector to finalize the studies on the project, which will also make use of cooperation with international and Islamic establishments.

The city will be constructed on an area of 2,450 square kilometers.

Among the important locations in the city are: Haj and Umrah Service Center, Islamic Fiqh complex, government departments, diplomatic quarters, cultural center, trade and business area, shopping arena, and a marina.

The geographical border of the new city will start from the Makkah Haram boundary and will extend up to the Red Sea coast of Al-Shuaiba in the west. Makkah-Jeddah Expressway is located north of the project while Allaith governorate is in the south and west. The Shuaiba Center will be the western seafront area and the eastern border is the Al-Baidaa Center while the Haram boundary in Shumaisi is located in the northeastern area.

The project’s development strategy will be based on economic diversification and reducing dependence on oil and gas. The project will take advantage of the successful global experiments of pumping diverse economic investments as in the case of Singapore and Putrajaya City in Malaysia, and the development projects will be based on renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

The project targets production of 9.5 gigawatts of power from renewable energy sources. It will also aim to attract 10 million visitors, including Haj and Umrah pilgrims.