King Abdullah Economic City

With a total development area of 173 km² (66.8 sq mi), the city is located along the coast of the Red Sea, around 100 km north of Jeddah, the commercial hub of the kingdom, the city will also be approximately an hour away from the holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina by car and an hour away of all Middle Eastern capital cities by plane. The total cost of the city is $80 billion (around SR 300 billion), with the project being built by Emaar, The Economic City. A Tadawul-listed company created from Emaar Properties, a Dubai-based public joint stock company and one of the world’s largest real estate companies, and SAGIA (Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority) which is the main facilitator of the project.

The city, along with other five economic cities, is a part of an ambitious "10×10" program to place Saudi Arabia among the world’s top ten competitive investment destinations by the year 2010, planned by SAGIA. The first stage of the city is planned to be completed in 2010, while the whole city is going to be fully completed by 2020. The city will help diversify the oil-based economy of the kingdom by bringing direct foreign and domestic investments. The city also will help create up to one million jobs for the youthful population of the country, where 40% of the population are under 15 .

The city is divided into six main components: Industrial Zone, Sea Port, Residential Areas, Sea Resort, Educational Zone, and a Central Business District which includes the Financial Island

On June 12, 2008, King Abdullah visited the city and evaluated the progress. He also inaugurated projects and initiatives with a total worth of $35 billion (SR 130 billion).