King Abdullah Economic City hosts Queensland State trade mission

The Commercial Attaché of the Australian Embassy in the Kingdom accompanied the Minister, who led a team of entrepreneurs from the construction and infrastructure sector.

Mr Fahd Al-Rasheed, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, Emaar.E.C, and other senior managers of the company welcomed the delegation and gave them an overview of KAEC and the various investment opportunities offered by the mega-project.

Mr Al-Rasheed said:

"KAEC has evolved as a key investment destination in several high-growth sectors including construction and infrastructure development for entrepreneurs from across the world. We are honoured to host the delegation from Queensland State, and we are confident that the visit will lead to significant investments in KAEC."

Queensland State has a trade representation in Saudi Arabia and is working with the State's industry to develop stronger partnerships in construction and infrastructure projects.

Tourism, agri-business, amenity horticulture, education and vocational training are other competencies of Queensland State.

Mr Al-Rasheed added: "The core industrial strengths of Queensland State are a perfect fit to the growth opportunities provided by KAEC. The first phase of KAEC has already gained strong international investor response and work is progressing as per schedule."

KAEC is spread over 168 million sq m on the Red Sea coast and has six key components: The Sea Port, Industrial Zone, Central Business District, Educational Zone, Residential Communities and Resort Zone.

When completed in phases, the mega-project has the potential to create one million jobs and will be home to over 2 million people.