Cisco has been appointed to support the creation of the critical information and communications technology (ICT) master plan for Jizan Economic City (JEC) 100-million-square-meter “smart city” project. Cisco Smart+Connected Communities project at JEC will be coordinated in conjunction with JEC's master plan developers, Malaysian MMC Corp and the Saudi Bin Ladin Group (SBG). The project aims to attract considerable global investment of more than SR100 billion and will establish the presence of a number of major industries in the city, such as local energy production, material, manpower and lifestyle. It also aims to create more than 500,000 new jobs in the various industries and service-oriented companies that will be established in izan Economic City. Commenting on this partnership, Adzreen Aziz, project director, JEC said:”The wealth of experience that Cisco has in conceptualizing and managing Smart+Connected Communities across the world has been instrumental in providing us with a workable and justifiable framework for the planning and implementation of JEC information communications technology services towards making JEC a safe, convenient, exciting, cost-effective and attractive city to live in for both residents and investors.” Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities initiative was developed to be a globally replicable model, said Caspar Herzberg, senior director of Cisco Advisory Services. “It has the potential to play a major role in transforming real estate developments in the regional areas. Together with MMC and SBG, Cisco will provide a smart and world-class services platform that will help achieve JEC's vision,” he added.
