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| Emaar.E.C expands King Abdullah Economic City's size fourfold Emaar the Economic City (Emaar.E.C) has significantly expanded the size of its largest-ever development in the Middle East, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia, by nearly four times to cover an area of over 168 million sq metres and unveiled a new masterplan. The Tadawul-listed company has modified the KAEC masterplan to make substantial additions to its six major components – the Port, Industrial District, Central Business District, Resort, Educational Zone and Residential. KAEC is situated on a greenfield site on the Red Sea coast. It offers easy access to the two Holy Cities of Makkah and Madina and is also near to Jeddah. RSP Architects, master planners of King Abdullah Economic City, has revised the overall masterplan of the project. Additional detailed masterplanning was provided by WATG for resorts and residential zones, SOM for the city centre and Parsons International for the Industrial Zone. Following the expansion, the Industrial District will cover 40 million sq m – five times more than previously envisaged. The 4,000 hectares of land will be dedicated to industrial and light manufacturing facilities - identified as key growth drivers for the Saudi economy - and can now host 2,700 industrial tenants. The Central Business District (CBD) will offer 3.8 million sq m of office space, hotels and mixed-use commercial space. The Financial District, within the CBD, has now been doubled in area to cover 14 hectares of land, which will be the largest regional financial nerve centre for the world's leading banks, investment houses and insurance groups. The retail component of KAEC takes a quantum jump following the expansion of the project. From an area of 3.3 million sq m, the total retail facilities will now spread to cover 8.7 million sq metres and house over 50,000 shops, nearly three times the earlier estimate. The Hospitality zone will be another strategic component of the new expansion with the number of hotel rooms and suites being increased from 12,000 rooms in 60 hotels to 25,000 hotel rooms in more than 120 hotels. The KAEC will now have 250,000 apartments and 25, 000 villas – a leap from 110,000 apartments and 16, 000 villas. The project has added 4.5 million sq m of parks and wadis that will enhance the aesthetic appeal provided by 4.9 million sq m of new water canals, which are very wide through its entire course thus creating additional waterfront. The canals are inspired by the waterways of Amsterdam and will offer 75 km of pedestrian promenade. With the introduction of the canals, more than 42 linear kilometres of waterfront has been added on to the project. Building on the socio-cultural environment demanded of living environments, KAEC will have 550 mosques including several Grand Mosques in the residential zones. Several schools will be opened to cater for the educational needs of children in each community apart from a University campus for 18,000 students. A sports stadium will also be part of the project, which will have 45,000 seats. Work is on-schedule at KAEC. The overall project will be completed in stages, with the first batch of commercial houses and residents expected to take possession in the last quarter of 2008. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |