Saudi Arabia is planning to build a vast economic metropolis in the middle of the desert which will be the size of Washington DC. King Abdullah Economic City is to be built around 60 miles north of Jeddah and will be more than 150 sq miles in size when it is completed.
The BBC reports more than one million jobs will have been created by the real estate project by 2020, and the city will house two million people. With oil becoming more and more expensive, the Saudi authorities are thought to be looking at new ways of making sure the country has a cash flow in future.
Quoted by the BBC, Fahd al-Rasheed of developers Emaar said:
“This is on a scale unheard of before in the world. [The King Abdullah Economic City] includes one of the largest ports in the world, an education zone, a resort zone etc. It is the size of Washington DC and is being built in 15 years.”
Building.co.uk adds Saudi Arabia is still producing £510 million worth of oil a day, although this is not expected to continue indefinitely. Over the next few years officials also hope to improve the skill levels of residents of the Kingdom and also cut the country’s dependence on workers from abroad.
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