Saudi Arabia will build an economic city in the north of the country to host agricultural and mineral industries, an education zone and residential areas.

King Abdullah announced the project at a ceremony in Hail, 720 km north of Riyadh. The city will cost SR30 billion ($8 billion), an AFP report quoted a source in Rakisa Holding as saying. Rakisa Holding will oversee the project along with the Saudi investment authority Sagia and the High Commission for Hail Development.
Saudi Arabia had announced in December a plan to build an economic city north of Jeddah with investments of $26.6 billion.
The ‘Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musaed Economic City,’ named after the first governor of the Hail region, will have its own airport, a railway service and a dry dock, according to a leaflet and film released at the ceremony. The region is an agricultural area rich in mineral resources and has some 600,000 inhabitants. Extending over 156 million sq m, it will also house 3,000 office units and a “logistical supply and services centre”.
Some 80,000 people are expected to take up residence in the new city, which will have business and leisure centres.
The report said that the venture, whose cost was confirmed by other officials at the launch, is part of efforts to boost less developed regions of the kingdom. It was announced by the Saudi monarch after a visit to the Eastern Province during which a number of economic projects were launched.