Part of Saudi Arabia’s plans to diversify its economy by building a string of new cities around the country, King Abdullah Economic City (Kaec) will cover an area of 168 square kilometres in Rabigh, 100km north of Jeddah.

The city, which is being developed by Emaar, The Economic City, a subsidiary of Dubai’s Emaar properties, is expected to house 2 million people, and create 1.3 million jobs. Kaec comprises six integrated zones: the seaport, industrial zone, central business district, waterfront resort area, education zone and residential zone.

Kaec’s residential sector is planned to contain 250,000 apartments and 25,000 villas. It will also include 120 hotels with more than 25,000 rooms. The adjoining retail section will cover a total area of 8.7 million square metres and contain more than 50,000 shops.

Located on the Red Sea coast, Kaec will be linked to the cities of Jeddah, Medina and Mecca by the $13.7bn Haramain high-speed railway, which is currently under construction.

Launched in 2005, prior to the global economic crisis, the development has fallen behind schedule and doubts have been raised over the ability of the projects to attract the billions of dollars required to move ahead.

Looking to kick-start the project after six years of little progress, the Saudi government pledged a SR5bn ($1.3bn) loan in 2011 to accelerate the construction of the scheme.

The Kaec seaport was the first major part of the city to commence construction. When completed, it is expected to be the region’s largest port and will have a total container capacity of more than 10 million 20-foot equivalent units. The first phase of the port is set to open in the third quarter of this year.

King Abdullah Economic City will cover an area of 168 square kilometres in Rabigh, 100km north of Jeddah

Last year, local dairy food producer Almarai and confectionery producer Mars Saudi Arabia both signed deals to establish multimillion-dollar manufacturing plants at Kaec. Altogether, the city has succeeded in attracting more than 50 national and international industrial companies, with investments exceeding SR10bn.