Knowledge Economic City, Medina

Knowledge Economic City of Medina was launched by King King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz in June 2006 and is the third of six economic cities announced by Amr Dabbagh, Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. The 25 billion riyal (USD7 billion) project is located at Al-Madinah, the home of Muhammad and where Qur'an was compiled.

Knowledge Economic City is designed as a project to position Saudi Arabia and young Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs as internationally respected leaders in knowledge based industries and aims to attract and develop talent from around the world. It is intended to create opportunities on a global scale while providing investors and entrepreneurs with infrastructure, opportunity, a unique pool of talent and the potential for a healthy return on investment.

More than 20,000 jobs and accommodation for about 150,000 people will be created by the project which is expected to bring about 10 billion Riyals a year into the region once it is completed by 2020.

Since its launch KEC has signed Memoranda of Understanding and contracts with several local companies and with government and private sector organisations from Malaysia and Canada. The latest have been MoUs signed with Cisco and CompTIA . The Cisco MoU is intended to provide access to leading edge networking technologies, while the CompTIA signing is to ensure Knowledge Economic City knowledge workers with internationally recognised IT qualifications. Road shows and trade exhibitions are planned for several other countries in the coming months as KEC seeks to attract investors and joint venture partners to Medina.

Already several major companies are involved and the development consortium members include:
* Savola Group (Publicly Listed Company)
* Taiba Investments and Real Estate Development Company (Publicly Listed Company)
* Project Management Development Company PMDC
* Quad Intl’ Real Estate Development Co. (Management)

Prior to the signing in February and March of Memoranda of Understanding with Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and Multimedia University, major MoU’s had been signed with KSA’s Siraj Capital Ltd and PMDC, Savola Group Co and Malaz Group. Key Consultancy contracts have been awarded to HOK Canada, IBI Group of Toronto and Malaysia’s MSC Technology Centre.

They and other partners will work with Seera City Real Estate Development, the company set up to manage the project, to identify opportunities and develop each of the facets of the city.

Seera City chairman Sheikh Ibrahim Al Eissa says Knowledge Economic City will combine the concepts of Intel Corporation's digital city, Cisco's smart city and Microsoft's internet frontier.

It is expected to:
* Create 20,000 new job opportunities
* Attract an expected population of 150,000
* Accommodate thousands of visitors in world class accommodation
* Provide a retail area including 1,200 shops
* Develop thousands of residential units
* Cover a land area of 4.8 million sq.m with a total build area of 8 million sq.m

It will comprise:
* A centre for medical sciences and bio-technology
* A high-tech park for knowledge-based industries, research centres and scientific development
* An educational/entertainment park themed around the heritage of Muhammad
* An educational technical and management institute
* A new, world-class business district for Medina
* A major retail hub themed after the old souks of Medina

The Centre for Medical Sciences & Biotechnology will benefit from the smart infrastructure in the city such as the Centre for Medical Simulation and Telemedicine and will:
* Provide medical services for the residents of and visitors to Medina
* Provide a rehabilitation complex for Muslims benefiting from the spiritual healing of MedinaTaiba High-Tech Park for Knowledge-Based Industries will contain smart buildings equipped with the latest state of the art IT and telecommunications infrastructure.

It will focus on:
* Electronic Government
* Distance learning
* Arabic language improvement and technology
* Tourism technology
* Call centres

It will:
* Provide incubators for young Saudi IT and small business entrepreneurs who are looking for a competitive environment to grow their businesses.
* Utilise the skilled female talent pool in Al-Madinah and provide distance working opportunities

The Seerah Land Theme Park will offer visitors of all ages, interests and cultural background a unique and unforgettable journey back into history.

Using the latest multimedia, laser and digital technologies it will explore the history and heritage of Muhammad and Islamic civilization including:
* The lives of the prophets
* The legacy of Muhammad
* The dynasties of Islamic civilization
* The contribution of Muslim civilization to the world knowledgeThe KEC project also includes the creation of a new business hub for Al Madinah which will be provided with the latest smart infrastructure and complementary business support services to create a more competitive environment. It will be able accommodate up to 10,000 employees.

A major retail hub themed after the old souks of Al-Madinah is to be developed and includes provision for 1,200 shops.The new residential developments will comprise thousands of residences accommodating up to 150,000 people and include:
* Two villa complexes
* Mid to high rise residential buildings
* Serviced Apartments
* Green Spaces
* World class hospitality facilities will be provided for up to 30,000 visitors at a time.

As the project develops Knowledge Economic City will continue to seek investors, partner and sub-developers and wants to establish joint ventures with strategic partners to develop and operate key components in the project including:
* High-Tech park
* Joint ventures with leading international Information and Communications Technology (ICT) firms
* Theme park
* Educational Institutions
* Medical Services
* Multi-Modal transportation centre
* PPP’s in infrastructure services
* Intelligent infrastructure services
* Hospitality establishments
* Incubator operators
* ICT focused venture capital funds
* Infrastructure funds

Notes

External links

* [http://www.madinahkec.com Knowledge Economic City Al Madinah]
* [http://www.msctc.com.my MSC Technology Centre]