KAEC to see more tenants in 2015: Emaar EC CEO

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) should see a stronger influx of corporate tenants this year, Fahd Al-Rasheed, chief executive of the project’s developer Emaar the Economic City (Emaar EC) has told Reuters.

The positive outlook was attributed to the kingdom’s solid economy and ability to weather the decline in oil prices.

Around 50 new companies are projected to start operations in KAEC in 2015, compared to 35 last year, Al-Rasheed said. Residential unit sales, however, may likely remain flat year-on-year at 2,500 units.

The KAEC port’s annual capacity would be raised to four million twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) units in 2016 from current 2.7 million.

The port city currently has a population of 3,000 people, which is set to double this year. Long-term targets include attracting a population of 50,000 by 2020 and two million by 2035.

On June 3, KAEC will hold a conference in Riyadh to attract about 500 companies from the six GCC countries, Al-Rasheed added. It’s being positioned to serve as a manufacturing and logistics hub for countries on the Red Sea.

The Tadawul-listed Emaar EC is a consortium headed by UAE-based Emaar Properties and Saudi investors.