Here are the plans for 6 key projects in New Taif City

King Salman inaugurated on Sunday six projects in New Taif City worth SAR 11 billion, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Argaam has compiled a list of the latest projects, which include a university and a touristic market, below:

1) New Taif Airport – Located in the northeast region, this airport is 40 kilometers (km) from the heart of the city and and 120 km away from Makkah. The airport is being built on a total area of 48,000 square kilometers. A consortium of Greece-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), Aviation Security in Airport Development, and Flughafen München GmbH, the operator of Munich Airport, has been appointed to develop the new airport.

2) Souq Okaz City - The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) has started work on the project, as part of the National Transformation Program 2020 to turn the Okaz Market into a tourism hub with an estimated budget of SAR 815 million.  The project is expected to attract more than 266,000 tourists every year and add up to SAR 294 million to the Kingdom’s GDP. It is also expected to provide more than 4,400 job opportunities. It will comprise 1,250 hotel rooms and 130 residential units. The masterplan is completed, and includes the layout and infrastructure work. Construction of the Souq’s main parts is also complete, including the Okaz Tent, Jadat Okaz and the arts theatre.

3) Oasis of Technology - A consortium of international companies has been chosen to design the oasis, including a contract between King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology and representatives of Morganti Group. King Abdul Aziz City received two plots of land allocated for the project that will cover 35 million square meters. The Technology Oasis includes four key components:

- A project to manufacture and assemble Antonov aircraft, and an industrial airport with a 3.5 kilometer runway. This is expected to be finished by 2020.

- A solar panel factory over 25,000 square meters, to produce the capacity of 9.5 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030.

- A photovoltaic solar plant to generate clean electricity with a daily capacity of one megawatt to reach 30 megawatts in a few years.

- Building a fast growing fodder project over 50,000 square meters. Production is expected to start by 2020.

4) Residential Suburb - The infrastructure contracts of the first phase of the residential suburb have already started to be followed by the next two phases, with a total cost of SAR 590 million. It is one of the biggest housing projects in Makkah, with more than 10,000 residential units, including 3,919 houses and 6,670 plots of land.

5) Industrial City - Taif’s first industrial city, located 55 kilometers from the center, and 29 kilometers from the airport, will be built over 11 million square meters. The first stage of the project will include a complex for heavy, medium and light industries, and vocational training center to be built over 1 million square meters with the cost of SAR 120 million.

6) University City - The project will be built in Saisad National park to serve the residents of Taif governorate. The campus is under construction with 16 projects to build facilities and dorms over 16.34 million square meters, with the cost of SAR 2 billion. The main road linking the city with Taif ring road is also under construction.