Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar EC), the company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), has awarded a SR239 million contract to Saudi Binladin Group.

The contract is for the construction of the North-South Coastal Road within KAEC. The work on the road is to be completed in nine months.

Fahd Al-Rasheed, board member and chief executive officer, Emaar.E.C, and Omar Bin Mohammed Binladin, executive board member, Saudi Binladin Group, signed the contract in Jeddah.

Al-Rasheed said: “King Abdullah Economic City has made rapid progress in the development of its various components. Developing a strong road infrastructure is part of our overall development strategy, as it is important to have a well-knit system to meet the demands of the residents and visitors.”

He added: “All development aspects of KAEC are progressing as per earlier plans and schedules, and Emaar.E.C is sufficiently endowed to undertake the work seamlessly. Much forward planning has been made on KAEC, considering the magnitude of its size, scope and scale. The new contract to Saudi Binladin Group is a reiteration of our focus on the timely completion of all aspects of the project. It also comes as part of our plans to announce several major projects and initiatives before the end of 2008.”

Binladin, said: “KAEC is one of the pioneering mega-projects in the region, and the new contract for developing the road infrastructure will contribute to the development of an efficiently connected community. Saudi Binladin Group works closely with KAEC on several aspects of the project, and will deliver the highest standards in executing the N-S Coastal Road project.”

A part of the overall infrastructure of the mega-project’s first phase, the North-South Coastal Road connects the areas that are being developed within KAEC. The 13-km road project comprises the 8.4 km N-S Coastal Road with a width of 80 m Right of Way (RoW) and the 4.4 Port Access Road with a width of 100 m RoW. A 200-metre bridge, connecting the future main Wadi diversion, is also part of the project.

The agreement with Saudi Binladin Group also includes all relative infrastructure and utility networks, such as portable water, water storm drainage, sewer lines, Low/Medium volt cable and telecommunication. The project will be supervised by Saudi Consultant Services and Turner Arabia as project managers.

King Abdullah Economic City is situated on 168 million sq m of land on the Red Sea coast. The mega-project features six zones – the Sea Port, Industrial Zone, Central Business District, Educational Zone, Resort District and Residential Communities.

The first phase of the project including the Industrial Zone, Sea Port and Residential Communities has been launched, and work is progressing as per schedule, said a statement. – TradeArabia News Service