Eastern Province, KSA · 2019. 5. 9. · Eastern Province consists of 11 governorates, in addition to cities and villages. Below is a list of all governorates by the population at

1 | P a g e E a s t e r n P r o v i n c e – A c t i o n a b l e M a r k e t I n t e l l i g e n c e

July 2018 | By: Ameer Yousif, Jaffer Al Hamad, Adel Al Banna

Eastern Province, KSA

Actionable Market Intelligence Report A report that is looking into the available economic opportunities

in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

With the objective to support the Bahraini private sector to expand

and grow in the region, Tamkeen is developing a series of

actionable market intelligence reports on various areas and

sectors in the Saudi Market.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 3

2. INFRASTRUCTURE ............................................................................................................ 4

TRAIN RAILWAYS ................................................................................................................... 4

AIRPORTS ............................................................................................................................... 5

SEAPORTS .............................................................................................................................. 6

ROADS NETWORK ................................................................................................................. 7

3. INDUSTRIAL CITIES ........................................................................................................... 8

DAMMAM INDUSTRIAL CITIES .............................................................................................. 8

JUBAIL INDUSTRIAL CITIES .................................................................................................. 9

AL-AHSA CURRENT INDUSTRIAL CITIES .......................................................................... 10

UPCOMING INDUSTRIAL CITIES ......................................................................................... 11

4. STATISTICS ...................................................................................................................... 12

5. SUPPORT SCHEMES ....................................................................................................... 17

SAUDI INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (SIDF) ........................................................... 17

SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES GENERAL AUTHORITY (MONSHA’AT) ................. 17

PRIVATE SECTOR STIMULUS PLAN ................................................................................... 17

LOCAL CONTENT POLICY ................................................................................................... 18

6. UPCOMING PROJECTS ................................................................................................... 19

QATIF PROJECTS:................................................................................................................ 19

AL-AHSA PROJECTS: ........................................................................................................... 19

DHAHRAN, AL-KHOBAR & DAMMAM PROJECTS: ............................................................. 20

JUBAIL PROJECTS: .............................................................................................................. 20

7. PROJECTS TIMELINE ...................................................................................................... 21

8. OPPORTUNITIES .............................................................................................................. 23

9. RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................... 24

10. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 25


1. INTRODUCTION

The largest province of Saudi Arabia by area. The province's capital is the city of Dammam, which hosts

the majority of the region's population. The province hosts the headquarters of Aramco which is based

in Dhahran, and it is also the home to most of Saudi Arabia's oil production. Eastern province also hosts

the headquarters of SABIC and the newly constructed Ma’aden’s Phosphate Company and Aluminum

Smelter.

With an area of 672,522 km2, Eastern Province has an international airport, in addition to a regional and

a domestic airport. Its population is around 4.1 million, which equates to 15% of the total population in

the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as per 2010 population census.

Eastern Province consists of 11 governorates, in addition to cities and villages. Below is a list of all

governorates by the population at the census held on 28 April 2010 and the 2018 estimates by United

Nations:

SN GOVERNORATES ACTUAL POPULATION (2010)

1 Al Ahsa 1,063,112

2 Al Dammam 904,597

3 Al Khobar 578,500

4 Al Qatif 524,182

5 Hafar Al Batin 389,993

6 Jubail 378,949

7 Al Khafji 76,279

8 Ras Tanurah 60,750

9 Buqayq 53,444

10 Al Nairyah 52,340

11 Qaryat al-Ulya 24,634

FIGURE 1: THE EASTERN PROVINCE HIGHLIGHTED

Largest Province in KSA. With

an area of 672,522 km2 &

Population is around 4.1 million


2. INFRASTRUCTURE

TRAIN RAILWAYS 1- Dammam–Riyadh railway line: Opened in 1981 with 449 km length passing through two

other stations, Abqaiq and Al-Hofuf, and branch lines to Dammam Port, Dhahran, Al-Judaidah, Ain Haradh and Al-Kharj. The maximum speed of the train is 180 km/h and planned to complement the projected “Landbridge” railway line to Jeddah with 958km railway line. A total of 20 trips are scheduled almost daily, 14 trips out of which travel the full route between Dammam and Riyadh with a total duration of 3 hours and 40 minutes.

2- Dammam–Jubail railway line: Planned to connect King Abdulaziz seaport in Dammam to

King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail industrial city. The expected length of the railway line is 115 km which mainly targets providing logistic services for products. It is expected to be integrated with the “North-South” projected railway line.

449 km Connecting Dammam to Riyadh through

Al Ahsa.

20 Daily Trips.

FIGURE 2: CURRENT AND FUTURE RAILWAY LINES


AIRPORTS

1. King Fahad International Airport (Dammam): By handling 9.8 million passengers in the year 2017, it is considered the third busiest airport in the kingdom after Jeddah and Riyadh. King Fahad International Airport is one of five international airports operating in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s third-largest airport plans to more than double capacity by 2025 to handle an expected surge in passenger traffic as the kingdom invests in tourism and entertainment projects to transform its oil-reliant economy.

2. Al-Ahsa Airport (Hofuf): Serves Al-Ahsa governorate, and considered a regional airport that operates with some international destinations.

3. Al-Qaisumah Airport (Hafr Al-Batin): Serving residents of the northern area of Eastern

Province with domestic flights.

FIGURE 3: A IRPORTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

3 Airports connecting the province locally, regionally &

internationally.


SEAPORTS 1- King Abdul Aziz Seaport (Dammam Port): The largest port in the Arabian Gulf, and the

second largest and second busiest port in the Middle East and North Africa. King Abdul Aziz Port covers an area of over 19,000 hectares with two container terminals, and is a major export center for the oil industry, and also a key distribution center for major landlocked cities in the country. The Saudi Railways Organization's cargo line of 556km begins at the King Abdul Aziz Port and passes through Al-Ahsa, Abqaiq, Al-Kharj, Haradh, and Al-Tawdhihiyah, before terminating at the dry port in Riyadh.

2- Ras Tanura Seaport: One of the oldest seaports in Saudi Arabia which was established in

1939. Its main operations are related to the oil refinery it hosts, and it exports nearly 20% of world’s oil and around 90% of kingdom’s oil production.

3- King Fahd Industrial Seaport (Jubail): Established in 1974, and mainly serves the wide range of factories inside the industrial city.

4- Jubail Commercial Seaport: Located about 14 kilometers southeast of the King Fahd

Industrial Port, and covers an area of about 44 km2. It is located near production centers and a large planned industrial zone.

5- Ras Al-Khair Seaport: Established by the Saudi company Ma’aden and lies on the east coast

of the Arabian Gulf approximately 90 km to the north of the Jubail Industrial City within a huge project of King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services. The area also expects to see what will be the largest shipyard in the world that is currently under construction. Major production operations of the complex are expected to commence at the end of 2018 and to be fully operational by 2022. Both Ras Al-Khair and Jubail are included in the “North-South Railway Line” to be established by the Saudi Railway Company (SAR), and to be connecting many other areas in the north, including the upcoming “Wa’ad Al-Shamal” ambitious city project.

FIGURE 4: SEAPORTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

5 Ports serving the kingdom Industrial & Commercial

imports & exports needs.


ROADS NETWORK 1- Jubail–Qassim Expressway: Extending for 428 km and inaugurated in 2012, the new three-

lane highway is an important strategic project that will link Jubail city on the east coast to Al-Qaseem, and then to the other cities on the west coast.

2- Saudi–Oman International Road: Completed in 2016 with around 566 km of road length inside Saudi only, this strategic road is going to link Oman to Salwa city near. Its importance comes from creating the strategic value of the new Al-Ahsa Second Industrial City which will be stretching on 300 million m².

> 4000 km of road network connecting the main

cities in the province with the

rest of kingdom & GCC.

FIGURE 5: NEW SAUDI-OMAN INTERNATIONAL ROAD


3. INDUSTRIAL CITIES

DAMMAM INDUSTRIAL CITIES

1- Dammam First Industrial City: Established in 1973 with a total area of 2.6 million m2. The city occupies a prime location near the cities of Dammam and Al Khobar, and very close to King

Abdulaziz seaport. It is equipped with a full set of governmental and infrastructure services and

hosts 169 factories from different industries, including productive, existing, under construction and

under formation. In addition to the residential units and commercial centers.

2- Dammam Second Industrial City: Established in 1978 on an area of 25 million m² on Dhahran-Al-Ahsa Road. Residential complexes and commercial centers equipped with all basic

services and facilities are available. Dammam second Industrial City hosts 1048 factories including

productive, existing, under construction and under formation.

3- Dammam Third Industrial City: Constructed in 2012 to provide an area stretching for up to 48 million m² is strategically located south of the city of Dammam on Dhahran - Al-Ahsa Road, and

about 45 km from the port of King Abdulaziz seaport in Dammam. It also gained importance

because of its connection with Dammam railway track and its proximity to the major companies in

the region, coupled with the promising Gulf train track. It has an estimated 145 factories, including

productive, existing, under construction and under formation.

FIGURE 6: DAMMAM INDUSTRIAL C ITIES (Click for more details)

3 Industrial cities in Dammam

area, housing Hundreds of factories.

http://maps.modon.gov.sa/ModonMaps/ModonMapsII/index.aspx


JUBAIL INDUSTRIAL CITIES

1- Jubail First Industrial City: Inaugurated in 1975, and considered Middle East's largest and world's fourth largest petrochemical company. Jubail industrial city and the port city is located 100

km northwest of Dammam city. Jubail First industrial city expands on a total area of 65 km2.

2- Jubail Second Industrial City (Jubail II): started in 2005, the current upgrade project to the existing industrial city was expanded for a further five years from 2016 to 2021. The new focus

is changing more towards providing residential accommodation and education facilities as well as

roads, bridges, medical centers, and power, water, and waste facilities. It shall host industrial

complexes within an area of 62 km2. Around 50,000 residential units will be added by 2026 as part

of the expansion process.

FIGURE 7: JUBAIL INDUSTRIAL C ITIES

2 Industrial cities in Jubail,

housing World

Largest

Petrochemical Industries.


AL-AHSA CURRENT INDUSTRIAL CITIES

1- Al-Ahsa First Industrial City: Inaugurated in 1981 and located on Dammam/Dhahran

highway, away from the city of Hofuf about 22 km north of Al-Ahsa, and with an area of 1.5 million

square meters.

2- Al-Ahsa Second Industrial City: Inaugurated in 2013 and considered to be one of the

biggest industrial cities in the Kingdom with regard to an area that amounts to 300 million m². The

Industrial City is located on the Arabian Gulf coast. It excels due to its proximity to the city of Hofuf

and outlets of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. The city is yet to be developed.

3- Modon Oasis in Al-Ahsa (Al-Ahsa Third Industrial City): Inaugurated in 2013,

located in the southern side of Al-Hofuf city, and prepared for the Saudi woman to work in a safe

environment and in complete privacy. Its total area of 543,431 square meters has many available

facilities including a mosque, training and employment center, children's nursery, medical and

sports center, and recreation area. As of 2015, 20 Ready-built factories were constructed as a first

step to enable female investors and business entrepreneurs who are interested in the field of

investment in industry in more than 10 different activities such as food industry, chocolate industry,

sweets, dates, medical appliances, and other eco-friendly light projects.

FIGURE 8: AL-AHSA INDUSTRIAL C ITIES (CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS)

The size of the planned area of

Al-Ahsa second industrial city

is 300 million m2.

http://maps.modon.gov.sa/ModonMaps/ModonMapsII/index.aspx


UPCOMING INDUSTRIAL CITIES

King Salman Energy Park (SPARK): With a total area that amounts to 50-square km of

land allocated for energy-related industries, the new industrial city is going to complete its first

phase that covers almost 12 km2 by 2021. It will be located close to Abqaiq between Dammam

and Ahsa. It will also focus on industrial areas, including upstream, downstream, petrochemicals,

power, and water. The new project will generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs and

annually add SR22.5 billion ($6 billion) to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP), along

with the harmony that it shall create in through the cooperation with Dammam third industrial city.

Furthermore, management of the new energy city will be jointly carried out by Saudi Aramco and

Modon (The Saudi Industrial Property Authority).

FIGURE 9: K ING SALMAN ENERGY PARK (SPARK)

SPARK is expected to add SR22.5 billion to the

kingdom’s GDP when fully

operational.

1 2 | P a g e E a s t e r n P r o v i n c e – A c t i o n a b l e M a r k e t I n t e l l i g e n c e

4. STATISTICS

Eastern Province population is estimated to be around 4.9 million, constituting 15% of the Saudi population of 32.6 million. National citizens are 3.1 million compared to 1.8 million expats. Nationals are growing annually at a rate of 1.7% in comparison to the expat growth of 4%.

POPULATION

Saudis Males Females Total Saudis

1,634,246 1,506,116 3,140,362

Non-Saudis Males Females Total Non-Saudis

1,307,230 452,733 1,759,963

Total Population

4,900,325

Number of Houses

Traditional House

Villa A floor in a

villa

A floor in the traditional

house Apartment

Total Residential Units

51,249 176,265 33,495 15,026 220,617 496,652

Saudi individuals in the Eastern Province spend a bit more than their monthly income. Which means they are not saving and they might be more on depending on loans. The average monthly family household income is SAR 16,605, while their major expenditures total to SAR 16,936.

LIFESTYLE

1 INCOME AND EXPENDITURES

Individual monthly income average

Saudi Individuals Total

2,565 2,346

Household average monthly income & size

Saudi households Total

Income Average

Household average size

Income Average


16,605 7 13,227 6

Individual monthly expenditure average

Saudi Individuals Total

2,616 2,335

Household average monthly expenditure & size

Saudi household Total

Expenditure Average

Household size Average

Expenditure Average


16,936 7 13,161 6

Population

INCOME


Half of the Saudi family budget is spent on two items:

- Housing and utilities: 23% - Food and beverages: 17%

Other main expenses are Transport, Fashion, Furnishing, and Communications.

2

AVERAGE MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE BY MAJOR EXPENDITURE GROUP

Major Expenditure Group Saudi Households Total of Households

Food And Beverages 2,890 2,289

Tobacco 39 63

Fabric, Apparel, and Footwear 1,372 991

Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and other Fuels

3,923 3,009

Furniture and Furnishings 1,316 906

Health Care Services 204 151

Transport 1,431 1,014

Communications 1,195 941

Recreation and Culture 588 417

Education 457 375

Restaurants and Hotels 938 773

Miscellaneous Personal Goods and Services

2,583 2,231

Total 16,936 13,160

EXPENDITURE


Majority of the students in the Easter Province attend public schools. Only around 18% of the national students attend private schools. The privatization of the basic education is starting in the academic year 2018-2019 with 20 schools as a pilot project and will be followed the following year with 2000 schools. On the other hand, the province is the home of three main public universities & eight colleges. Only a fraction of the tertiary and higher education students attend a relatively small private university and three colleges.

EDUCATION

1 BASIC EDUCATION

Education BOYS GIRLS

Primary Intermediate Secondary Primary Intermediate Secondary

Governmental 566 339 247 564 326 261

Private 131 113 93 142 93 69

2 HIGHER EDUCATION (MALES AND FEMALES)

Universities Colleges

Governmental 3 8

Private 1 3

The private sector plays a higher role in the healthcare service compared to the education. More than 30% of the hospitals, beds, and physicians are serviced by the private sector.

This role will be extended further as the privatization of the healthcare sector

is one of the key initiatives of the kingdom ambitious vision 2030.

HEALTH CARE

Hospitals Beds Physicians

Governmental 44 7,969 5,879

Private 26 3,455 2,749

Total 70 11,424 8,628

Per 1000 population

Unavailable 2.80 2.10

International Average Per 1000 population

Unavailable 2.92 1.86

HEALTH CARE

EDUCATION


Due to housing the main oil and petrochemical industries of the kingdom, a

wide range of the businesses in the province is providing services to these

two major industries.

The retail sector leads the economic activities by the number of

establishments in the province, followed by:

Agriculture, forestry & fishing

Manufacturing industry

Accommodation and food services

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

1 NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS CLASSIFIED BY

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND SECTOR TYPE

Economic Activity Economic Sector

Private Public Non-Profit Total

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

19,379 1 - 19,380

Mining and quarrying 110 47 - 157

Manufacturing Industries 13,050 4 - 13,054

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning

93 - - 93

Water, sewerage, waste treatment

223 2 1 226

Construction 5,815 6 - 5,821

Wholesale and retail trade, and vehicle repair

54,240 2 10 54,252

Transport and stockpiling

2,484 11 2 2,497


11,259 - - 11,259

Information and Communication

604 1 2 607

Finance and insurance 742 4 - 746

Property activities 3,975 - - 3,975

Professional, scientific and technical activities

1,478 5 1 1,484

Administrative and support services

2,793 24 2 2,819

Education 780 3 80 863

Health and social work 351 2 147 500

Arts and entertainment 238 - 5 243

Other activities and services

9,191 - 178 9,369

Total 126,805 112 428 127,345

ECONOMY


2 ECONOMIC INDICATORS FOR ESTABLISHMENTS BY

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

Economic Activity (Figures in Thousand Riyals) Revenues Expenditure Operating

surplus

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

14,733,195

6,261,574

8,471,621

Mining and quarrying

1,017,319,395

96,204,918

921,114,477

Manufacturing Industries

128,691,369

56,549,554

72,141,815

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning

10,929,258

4,739,467

6,189,791

Water, sewerage, waste treatment

1,233,766

528,412

705,354

Construction

39,079,640

16,077,080

23,002,560

Wholesale and retail trade, and vehicle repair

89,971,839

64,047,236

25,924,603

Transport and stockpiling

19,526,832

10,240,239

9,286,593


7,505,716

3,707,955

3,797,761

Information and Communication

10,668,723

4,608,696

6,060,027

Finance and insurance

15,867,452

4,416,619

11,450,833

Property activities

3,736,722

1,520,708

2,216,014

Professional, scientific and technical activities

5,482,740

3,091,012

2,391,728

Administrative and support services

11,017,243

5,806,425

5,210,818

Education

1,748,293

770,258

978,035

Health and social work

5,643,907

2,018,756

3,625,151

Arts and entertainment

967,165

343,312

623,853

Other activities and services

2,162,916

1,144,730

1,018,186

Total 1,386,286,171 282,076,951 1,104,209,220


5. SUPPORT SCHEMES

SAUDI INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (SIDF)

Government financial institution which was established in 1974. Provides the finance and advisory

services needed to support the growth and development of the local industrialization and upgrading the

level of the industry performance. Also, SIDF recruits, trains and qualifies Saudi cadre of professional,

technical and administrative employees at the highest level of expertise and experience.

In association with the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) a program is initiated to offer

industrial land and industrial loan for specific industrial cities. It is recommended to partner with Saudi

investors in manufacturing projects and reap the benefits of various SIDF support programs.

SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES GENERAL AUTHORITY (MONSHA’AT) Monsha’at is a focused authority on supporting the development and growth of the SMEs in KSA. They

do that through reviewing regulations, removing barriers and facilitating access to finance. Moreover,

their various support programs help young people and innovators in marketing their ideas and products.

Monsha’at is establishing more business incubators, training institutions and specialized venture capital

funds to help entrepreneurs develop their skills and innovations. They offer special programs to help

small national enterprises to export their products and services and marketing through e-marketing

support and coordination with relevant international bodies.

Monsha’at is managing the 12.2 billion Saudi riyals support fund for the SMEs. This fund is used in four

programs:

1- 800 million riyals to boost the capital of Kafalah, a program which lends to small and medium-

sized enterprises (SMEs)

2- 1.6 billion riyals of indirect financing to SMEs

3- 7 billion riyals worth of customs fees will be returned to SMEs

4- 2.8 billion riyal government fund will be created to invest in smaller companies

Bahraini entrepreneurs expanding in KSA, recommended to partner with Saudi counterparts in order to

benefit from these programs.

PRIVATE SECTOR STIMULUS PLAN

Late December 2017, the Saudi government allocated 72 billion Saudi riyals for stimulating the private

sector. This budget is part of a larger one 200 billion Saudi riyals to be spent over the four years 2018

– 2021.

The fund is being used to support initiatives aimed at stimulating the private sector, boost the

competitive capabilities of national companies and developing their products. It is also set to improve

the commercial and investment environment and boost the developmental role of the private sector

within the national economy as per Saudi Vision 2030.


The fund is distributed to the following initiatives:

1- Residential housing loans worth 21.3 billion riyals

2- 10 billion riyal fund to support economic projects

3- 1.5 billion riyals to support distressed companies

4- 400 million riyals will be spent on highly efficient air conditioning equipment

5- 5 billion riyals of export financing

6- 5 billion riyals for a program supporting large investments; the government did not give details

7- 2.56 billion riyals of spending on the country’s broadband and fiber optics infrastructure

8- 13.87 billion riyals to promote advanced construction techniques

9- 12.2 billion riyals to support SMEs through Monsha’at as explained above.

These support programs are dedicated for Saudi companies with local partners. So Bahraini businesses

need to partner with Saudi nationals to benefit from the various initiatives.

LOCAL CONTENT POLICY In line with the objectives of Saudi national vision 2030, several programs were initiated by the main

industries and government bodies to boost the local manufacturing and services sectors in order to

increase the local content from current 36% to 50% by 2020.

KSA 2030 Strategy focuses on increasing the local content in main economic sectors:

Increase none oil export from 16% to > 50%

Oil & Gas sector from 40% to 75%

Health 10% increase annually

Defense from 2% to 50% by the year 2028

Main entities like Aramco and Sabic are targeting 70% local content in their contracts. An auditing

mechanism is put in place to ensure conformity to the policy.

Main entities support programs are:

Aramco – Iktiva (اكتفاء): https://www.iktva.sa/

Sabic – Nusaned (نساند): http://lc.sabic.com/en

Defence & Security Sector (أفد): http://afed.com.sa/?lang=en

These entities listed hundreds of products and services as investment opportunities for both local and

international investors with lucrative support programs including off-take agreements for ten years.

https://www.iktva.sa/http://lc.sabic.com/enhttp://afed.com.sa/?lang=en


6. UPCOMING PROJECTS

The Eastern Province has many upcoming business opportunities as of the governmental tendency

towards lowering dependence on oil and building up new industries to speed up job creation for a rapidly

rising young population. Current upcoming and developing projects are:

QATIF PROJECTS:

1- Fish Market Island: Currently located as an open yard in the center of Qatif city. The new market is a man-made island connected to the mainland with a road. The infrastructure is

already developed by the municipality. The fish market is the largest in the Gulf, where 2,500

metric tonnes of fresh fish are traded by fish suppliers from all GCC countries. The project is to

develop the market and operate to include wholesale, retail, central fridge, and seafood

restaurants.

2- Entertainment Complex: To develop and operate an entertainment complex containing theatres, cinemas, restaurants, and other entertainment activities.

3- Hotel & Motel: Qatif lacks completely any hospitality service. The proposed project is to develop and operate a hotel and motel on the beach between the two bridges connecting Qatif

to Tarout.

4- Entertainment Park: Qatif corniche lacks entertainment and proper playgrounds. The project is to develop and operate such park on the cornice and to include sea activities such as

boating.

5- Traditional Old Souq: The project is to develop and operate the famous "Khamis Souq" current location and convert to a more comprehensive and well-developed marker like Souq

Waqif in Doha. The project also includes towers, recreational facilities, playgrounds for children,

walkways, and water springs and a cultural center, on an area of 180,000 square meters.

AL-AHSA PROJECTS:

Dahyat Al-Asfar: On an area of 90 km2, the Saudi ministry of housing has announced that

it would develop this project near AlAsfar Lake in Al-Ahsa. This project is expected to host more

than 21 km2 of housing units for more than half a million citizen along with many other amenities.


DHAHRAN, AL-KHOBAR & DAMMAM PROJECTS:

1- The Landbridge: With a total length of 960km, this railway track will connect Riyadh to Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, and considered to be an upgrade to the existing railway track

between Dammam and Riyadh. A second 115 km new line is planned to connect Dammam

with Jubail as well.

2- Aramco’s Ajyal Home Ownership Project: Set out in southern Dhahran on an area of 10 km2, it will offer more than 7,500 homeownership villas plus other accommodation

constructions. The project is divided into two phases, the first phase completes in 2018, and

the second phase completes in 2020. Such a project will indeed include shopping malls,

restaurants, mosques, schools, and other facilities.

3- Aramco’s Jabal Heights Project: Located in Al-Dhahran and providing 1,556 housing

units, including 885 family villas and 671 apartments. All of the residential units are expected

to be occupied by 2018.

4- Emaar’s Al-Khobar Lakes: Set amongst 4.3 km2 of serene lakes, Al-Khobar Lakes

private housing project provides over 2,000 private villas, retail and leisure amenities when

finished.

5- Northern and Southern Dammam Housing Projects: Expected to deliver 7,622 and 16,210 housing units respectively, both governmental housing projects that have started

in 2013 have not been completed yet. Both projects collectively extend over a total size of 9.8

km2 and total cost of SAR 1.75 billion.

6- Fursan Homes: A private-sector project that consists of 623 detached villas and duplexes spread over 468,000 m2 of land in Dammam city. It is located 30 km away from King Fahad

international airport, and opposite to Al-Asala private university on King Fahad highway. This

project is to be completed in 2018.

7- Canary Residential Project: Spreads over an area of 375,000 m2 and includes 550

villas. This project’s construction works are completed in 2018.

8- Shopping Malls: Many shopping and retails mall have been and are being developed in Eastern Province.

9- Real Estates: Diverse range of real estate projects are on the way including hotels, business areas, commercial and residential towers, business parks, and other real estate projects.

JUBAIL PROJECTS:

Jubail residential projects: Upcoming are a number of promising residential projects that are being developed due to the increasing population in Jubail city. Many have been initiated or in advanced

development stages including Al-Raqqa neighborhood, New City Center, and others.

2 1 | P a g e E a s t e r n P r o v i n c e – A c t i o n a b l e M a r k e t I n t e l l i g e n c e

7. PROJECTS TIMELINE

The Eastern Province has many upcoming business opportunities as of the governmental tendency towards lowering dependence on oil and

building up new industries to speed up job creation for a rapidly rising young population. Current upcoming and developing projects are:

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Entertainment Complex

Entertainment Qatif 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Not specified

Entertainment Park Entertainment Qatif 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Not specified

Hotel & Motel Hospitality Qatif 1 1 1 1 1 1 6

2018 Aramco’s Ajyal -

Phase 1 Housing Dhahran

3,000 villas & other facilities

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15

2018 Aramco’s Jabal Heights Project

Housing Dhahran 885 villas &

761 apartments

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15

2018 Emaar’s Al-Khobar

Lakes Housing Al-Khobar

2,000 villas & amenities

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15

2018 Fursan Homes Housing Dammam 623 villas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15

2018 Canary Residential

Project Housing Al-Khobar 550 villas 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 14

2020 Aramco’s Ajyal -

Phase 2 Housing Dhahran

4,500 villas & other facilities

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15


Not specified

Northern and Southern Dammam Housing Projects

Housing Dammam 7,622 & 16,210

housing units 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15

NA Real Estates Housing Eastern

Province 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15

NA Jubail residential

projects Housing Jubail 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15

2021 Aramco’s Energy Industrial City -

Phase 1 Industrial Al-Ahsa 50 sq. km 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 17

NA Aramco - Iktiva

Program Industrial All Areas

Hundreds of industrial projects

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8

NA Sabic - Nusanid

Program Industrial All Areas

Hundreds of industrial projects

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8

2020 Fish Market Island Market Qatif The largest

fish market in GCC

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10

Not specified

Traditional Old Souq

Market Qatif 180,000 square

meters area

1 1 1 1 4

NA Shopping Malls Market Eastern

Province 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10

2018 Saudi–Oman

International Road Road

Al-Ahsa, Rub' al Khali

566 km 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Not specified

Jubail–Qassim Expressway

Road Jubail, Qassim

428 km 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Not specified

The Landbridge Transportation Jeddah, Riyadh, Jubail

960 km railway track

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

Total 10 12 18 13 11 21 13 4 12 17 10 14 4 1 19 18 19 16 232


8. OPPORTUNITIES

Based on thorough research and field visits to various governorates in the Eastern Province which

included meetings senior officials in the chambers of commerce, municipality, municipality council and

businessmen, many business opportunities are identified and emerging as a result of the above

upcoming projects. Following is the list of potential investment opportunities for Bahraini investors and

businesses in Eastern Province:

1- Participating in the above projects as developers in partnership with local investors or

developers.

2- Building and operating 2 to 3 central markets in Qatif, as the governorate current market is old

and does not match the standards of such markets in the Gulf.

3- Recently available dining-in options have profoundly increased, but the market need is

expected to increase as a result of the trend changes, and the new category of people to be

employed in new projects.

4- Private hospitals and clinics are expecting higher demand. As a result of new people employed

by upcoming projects and the new governmental healthcare structure, demand for better

hospital care is expected to increase. Bahraini private health services can partner with the local

health professionals, developers, or investors.

5- Private schools are also limited in comparison to the public schools. Percentage of students in

private schools is a lot less than the public schools, and it is even less for girls. Bahraini private

schools can expand in Eastern Province and benefit from the various support programs offered

by the Saudi government to encourage the investment in the education sector.

6- Shopping malls which have a potential and many have been constructed or currently under

construction. Other different traditional markets are also available. New entertainment-focused

malls are recommended to fill in the gap, especially with the fact that the majority of the

population are young. Also, Bahraini branded retail businesses can expand in Eastern Province

if their representation in the region allows them to do so, or bring in new brands of various price

ranges.

7- The number of health and fitness centers is limited in Eastern Province. While in Bahrain we

have plenty of good standards centers competing in our small market. It is recommended that

they expand in Eastern Province to fill the current gap.


9. RECOMMENDATIONS

Eastern Province has more 4.1 million residents and is still in need of more products and services

primarily related to education, health, retail, and hospitality. More information can be obtained by

increasing the amount of collaboration and business relations between both sides and making

information readily made at an absolutely faster pace.

Recommended industries are:

1- Education – Private Schools,

2- Health – Private Hospitals,

3- Retail,

4- Hospitality,

5- Real Estate Development – Residential Compounds & Facility Services,

6- Entertainment – Currently they only have public parks.


10. REFERENCES

Field visits to Dammam, Qatif and Al Ahsa.

Meeting officials from the chamber of commerce, municipalities, municipality council, and

leading businessmen.

Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON). Industrial Cities Directory. [Online]. Available

from: https://www.modon.gov.sa/en/INDUSTRIALCITIES/INDUSTRIALCITIESDIRE

TORY/INDUSTRIALCITIES/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 29th May 2018].

Deena Kamel, The National. Exclusive: Saudi Arabia's Dammam Airport to double capacity

as the kingdom develops tourism projects. [Online]. Available from:

https://www.thenational.ae/business/aviation/exclusive-saudi-arabia-s-dammam-airport-to-

double-capacity-as-kingdom-develops-tourism-projects-1.728120 [Accessed 30th May 2018].

World Port Source. Jubail Commercial Port. [Online]. Available from:

http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/SAU_Jubail_Commercial_Port_653.php

[Accessed 31st May 2018].

Saudi Projects. Projects. [Online]. Available from: http://www.saudiprojects.net/?page_id=13

[Accessed 4th June 2018].

Saudi Aramco. Ras Al-Khair. [Online]. Available from:

http://www.saudiaramco.com/en/home/inaugurations/ras-alkhair.html [Accessed 3rd June

2018].

Mubashir Ahmad. AJYAL (South Dhahran) Home Ownership Project. [Video] 2017. Available

from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG54W41kjo0 [Accessed 3rd June 2018].

Bechtel. Jubail Industrial City. [Online]. Available from:

https://www.bechtel.com/projects/jubail-industrial-city/ [Accessed 4th June 2018].

Zawya. Development projects launched in the Saudi Eastern Province. [Online]. Available

from:

https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/story/Development_projects_launched_in_Saudi_Eastern_

Province-ZAWYA20180214054336/ [Accessed 7th June 2018].

Saudi Aramco. King Salman Energy Park: At the epicenter of a global industry. [Online].

Available from: http://www.saudiaramco.com/en/home/news-media/news/king-salman-energy-

park-epicenter-global-energy-industry.html [Accessed 4th June 2018].
https://www.modon.gov.sa/en/INDUSTRIALCITIES/INDUSTRIALCITIESDIREhttps://www.thenational.ae/business/aviation/exclusive-saudi-arabia-s-dammam-airport-to-double-capacity-as-kingdom-develops-tourism-projects-1.728120https://www.thenational.ae/business/aviation/exclusive-saudi-arabia-s-dammam-airport-to-double-capacity-as-kingdom-develops-tourism-projects-1.728120http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/review/SAU_Jubail_Commercial_Port_653.phphttp://www.saudiaramco.com/en/home/inaugurations/ras-alkhair.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG54W41kjo0https://www.bechtel.com/projects/jubail-industrial-city/https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/story/Development_projects_launched_in_Saudi_Eastern_Province-ZAWYA20180214054336/https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/story/Development_projects_launched_in_Saudi_Eastern_Province-ZAWYA20180214054336/http://www.saudiaramco.com/en/home/news-media/news/king-salman-energy-park-epicenter-global-energy-industry.htmlhttp://www.saudiaramco.com/en/home/news-media/news/king-salman-energy-park-epicenter-global-energy-industry.html

Documents

Eastern Province, KSA · 2019. 5. 9. · Eastern Province consists of 11 governorates, in addition to cities and villages. Below is a list of all governorates by the population at