SAGIA and Emaar, The Economic City host General Electric's international tour of King Abdullah Economic City

The media represent leading publications and news agencies from the US, Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Asia. The tour was also joined by members of the Saudi media.

At a media briefing held at the KAEC Presentation Centre, H. E. Mr Amr Bin Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, Governor, SAGIA, presented the SAGIA's Vision 10 x 10 for the Kingdom to become one of the top 10 most competitive nations in the world by year 2010. 'SAGIA is committed to enhancing the investment potential of the Kingdom; solve difficulties, if any, that are faced by regional and international investors; and establish a national centre that will ease and encourage investments into the Kingdom,' he said.

He added: 'The Kingdom, under the guidance of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz AlSaud, has adopted several key measures to achieve our objective. The founding of Economic Cities is one of the strategic initiatives in this direction. We are also committed to developing a strong power, transport and industry base, which will serve as a platform for Economic Cities to thrive and create a favourable growth environment for international investors.'

Mr Al-Dabbagh also highlighted the role of GE in establishing long-term development partnerships with the region and its innovative technologies and solutions that contribute to developing various economic sectors.

SAGIA is the prime facilitator of KAEC, a 168 million sq m project, located on the Red Sea coast offering easy access to the two Holy Cities of Makkah and Medina, and the commercial nerve-centre, Jeddah. KAEC has six key components: the Sea Port, Industrial Zone, Central Business District (including the Financial District), Resort District, Educational Zone and Residential Communities.

Mr Nidal Jamjoom, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar.E.C, made a detailed presentation on KAEC, the investment opportunities offered by the project, and a time-line for the project's completion. He said: 'KAEC will meet the highest international standards in project execution, and create a new platform for regional and international investment through its six zones. The project has already gained global attention and investor response has been strong.'

'KAEC is expected to usher in a new era of economic prosperity to the Kingdom and has the potential to create one million job opportunities,' added Mr Jamjoom. 'The visit organised by GE reflects the strong growth potential offered by KAEC, which has been inspired by the vision of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz AlSaud.'

Mr John Rice, Vice Chairman, GE, showcased the regional growth of the company and its efforts in meeting the needs of emerging economies in the region, and preparing them for the future. He said that GE is focused on building sustainable foundations in the region through effective public-private partnerships in sectors as wide ranging as oil & gas, infrastructure, healthcare, aviation, security and finance.