The city is home to the impressive Masjid al-Nabawi (the Prophet’s mosque) and the final resting place of the Prophet Muhammad. The province has been governed by Prince Abdulaziz bin Majed since 2005.

The city is a hugely important destination for Muslims and derives much of its income from religious tourism. Saudi Arabia has funded a series of infrastructure projects in recent years to accommodate Medina’s growing population of 1.3 million people and its year-round flow of pilgrims. These schemes include the expansion of the Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International airport and an overhaul of the city’s road network.

Medina has also made efforts to establish itself as a hub for research and development through the creation of an economic zone on the outskirts of the city. As with Mecca, the city itself is out of bounds for non-Muslims.

ECONOMIC ZONES

Knowledge Economic City
Knowledge Economic City (KEC) was the third of six economic cities unveiled in 2006 in support of Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification strategy. The multibillion-dollar project aims to create 20,000 jobs in Medina province and attract foreign investment into strategic sectors.

KEC is expected to include educational, medical, retail and residential zones within a total area of 4.8 million square metres on the eastern edge of Medina City.

Phase one of the project, representing 40 per cent of the full development, was originally scheduled to be finished by 2010. The second phase was planned to be completed in 2020. Construction is in progress on the site, but the initial completion deadlines have been missed. 

The local Al-Rajhi Construction was awarded a contract to develop infrastructure over a total area of 2 million sq m in the northern section of the scheme in May 2011. According to KEC’s last progress report in June 2011, this should be completed by mid-2013.

Transport

Aviation
Medina’s main airport is the Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz airport (PMAA), which began operations in 1974. It acts as an entry point to the holy cities and is mostly used to handle domestic flights.

PMAA is being expanded as part of efforts to increase the capacity of airports throughout the kingdom. The $1.5bn scheme involves the construction of a new terminal building, as well as rehabilitation and upgrading of airside infrastructure.

The project will expand the capacity of the airport to 8 million passengers a year, from the current 4 million. Phase one of the expansion will take place from 2012 to 2015. The Medina airport is being built under a public-private partnership contract, the first airport privatisation scheme of its kind in the kingdom.

Rail
The government has funded a series of projects aimed at alleviating Medina’s congestion woes, including the construction of the Medina-al-Ula Expressway at a cost of $37.3m.

The Haramain High-Speed Railway project is also expected to ease traffic concerns. The $11.9bn network will link the city with Mecca, Jeddah, the industrial town of Rabigh, and King Abdulaziz International airport. Construction of the railway is being carried out in two phases and the scheme is scheduled for completion by April 2013.

ACCOMMODATION

Hotels
Medina offers an array of hotels, ranging from serviced apartments to luxury properties run by international hotel operators such as Oberoi Hotels and Resorts. Room prices range from about $50 a night to more than $600. The city’s popularity as a tourist destination means occupancy rates regularly top 90 per cent, even during the off-season.

Apartments and villas
Like Mecca, many of the apartments in Medina are sub-let or rented to long-term visitors or scholars. The city has a lack of affordable housing, which has pushed up rents – but leases remain cheaper than those in Mecca. On average, a family should expect to pay more than SR3,500 ($930) a month for a small apartment in Medina. Living expenses for a family of four can easily reach SR5,000 a month.

HEALTHCARE

The government covers all healthcare costs for pilgrims, but expatriates residing in the kingdom are required by law to have medical insurance.

Medina has about 20 hospitals offering an acceptable level of healthcare. According to the Saudi embassy in Washington, the city is in the process of building and upgrading eight hospitals and 103 primary healthcare centres. The 130-bed Medina Cardiac Centre began operations in August 2011, offering specialist adult and paediatric cardiology services.

In June 2011, local healthcare provider International Medical Center said it planned to build a medical facility in KEC, after buying a plot of land within the project for SR22.8m.