More and more residential projects are needed in Madina to cater to the needs of the ever-growing population and the increased number of visitors to the city. The population in the Prophet's City which stands at a million now is expected to more than double by 2020, according to a recent study. The Knowledge Economic City (KEC) in Madina, launched by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in June 2006 will substantially meet the growing housing demand in the holy city. KEC is the third of the six economic cities announced by Amr Dabbagh, Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. The SR30 billion project in Madina “is part of our endeavor to provide a better lifestyle and good living conditions to the people of Madina and the other customers of the residential KEC project,” said KEC project planning and scheduling manager Eadia S. Asaly, who spoke to Saudi Gazette on the sidelines of the recent Cityscape 2010 exhibition at the Jeddah International Exhibition Center. “KEC is located inside the boundary of the Haram in Madina on an area of five million sq. meters,” he said. “The whole development plan is based on providing an environment of knowledge including the infrastructure, planning and zoning of the city,” he explained. The city, he said, has been designed to position Saudi Arabia and young Saudi entrepreneurs as internationally respected leaders in knowledge-based industries and is aimed at attracting and developing talent from around the world. “This is a residential project which provides knowledge to the people who live there and will also benefit those living in surrounding areas,” said Asaly. “There will be a special knowledge compound consisting of national and international universities and schools to support the project,” he said . The city is intended to create opportunities for Saudi entrepreneurs on a global scale while providing investors and entrepreneurs with infrastructure, a unique pool of talent and the potential for a healthy return on investments. The city consist of various residential and commercial sectors along with knowledge zones. The main customers for the city are either local residents of Madina or those from other parts of the Kingdom or even from the Islamic World. “We are aiming to target medium to high income customers from the Kingdom and neighboring countries. We are looking for people who want to build their second home, especially retired people who want to spend their retirement life in Madina,” Asaly said. “The main goal of this economic city is to bring Islamic ideas and professionals from the whole world and we will provide them with a clean Islamic environment,” he added.
