As part of its corporate social responsibility to encourage the Saudi youth and drive innovative development concepts, Emaar Middle East, a subsidiary of global property developer Emaar Properties PJSC, hosted a presentation on the conceptual ‘Jeddah Knowledge City’ developed by four students from the Faculty of Environmental design of King Abdul Aziz University.
Evaluating the presentation was a panel of experts comprising: Dr Abdulqadir Al Jilani, Head of College of Environmental Design; Dr Yousef Niazy, Deputy of the College of Environmental Design and Course Instructor; Dr Khaled Yousef, Professor; Eng. Ahmad Al Kulli, General Manager, Emaar Middle East; Arch. Imad Haikal and Arch. Faisal Al Abbadi, Senior Managers – Development; and Arch. Tamer Safeieldin, Manager – Development. Senior officials of Emaar Middle East attended the event.
Eng. Ahmad Al Kulli said: “By hosting the event at Jeddah Gate Sales Centre, Emaar Middle East underscored its commitment to promoting innovative ideas that can strengthen the region’s development sector. The students of King Abdul Aziz University presented an exemplary model for urban development that integrates the latest in technology and project management techniques. We remain committed to promoting educational initiatives and will extend our support to the community through educational and research initiatives to nurture future professionals.”
Dr Yousef Niazy thanked Emaar Middle East for the support extended to the project. “Emaar Middle East has been setting new standards in project development, and serving as an inspiration for young professionals. The presentation was a true representation of the new outlook and fresh perspectives that young Saudis bring to our country and would also contribute to identifying developments in the private, public and academic sectors”.
The Saudi students presented an entire development model of Jeddah Knowledge City, which is envisaged to have two components – virtual and real.
The virtual aspect of the city encompasses creating a web page linking all Jeddah landmarks to the Jeddah Knowledge City gateway. This is aimed at providing access for the public to all governmental and private sector services for the people. The real aspect of the city envisages the creation of a new masterplan to develop the Old Airport District with a mixed-use project that energises the local economy.
Jeddah Gate Sales Centre showcases development models of Jeddah Gate, the flagship master-planned community by Emaar Middle East, which is currently progressing as per schedule. A mixed-use project spread over approximately half a million sq m, Jeddah Gate features residential units, commercial units, and 75,000 sq m of gross leasable area for retailers.
