Local firm Yaghmour Contracting & Maintenance has been appointed as the main contractor for a villa complex in Saudi Arabia.

The firm will work on the first phase of the Al-Talah Gardens 3 project, which is being developed in the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) masterplanned economic zone in Jeddah.

The consultant working on the $128m project is Egypt’s EHAF Consulting Engineers.

KAEC is the kingdom’s largest real estate scheme. Emaar the Economic City (EEC), the local affiliate of Dubai’s Emaar Properties, is developing the project.

Launched in 2005, KAEC had a population of about 5,000 people and 120 industrial tenants at the end of last year. In January, the CEO of the city, Fahd al-Rasheed, said KAEC’s population was projected to hit 50,000 by 2020, with an ultimate target of 2 million by about 2035.

Earlier this month, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is planning to buy a stake in the project.

The government has previously said it is keen on pressing ahead with economic zones across the kingdom in a bid to boost industries and job creation.