Knowledge Economic City (KEC) yesterday welcomed a delegation of executive committee members from the Federation of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA), who were gathering for their biannual meeting, being hosted by KEC.
FIMA is the parent body of 32 Islamic Medical Associations and health related NGOs world wide and has a consultant status with the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
KEC is hosting the meeting to promote itself among the key medical influencers of the Muslim world. The delegates were welcomed by Knowledge Economic City CEO Tahir Bawazir who said that “by hosting the FIMA executive committee we have an opportunity to enter into a dialogue with leading medical scientists and practitioners to ascertain how KEC can become a hub for medical sciences & biotechnology”.
“We are happy to share our ideas with the FIMA executive committee to assess any possible areas of corporation” Mr. Bawazir added.
Mr. Bawazir briefed the FIMA delegates on how Saudi Arabia was experiencing a renaissance in scientific, medical and technical research and how KEC plans to further strengthen this development by creating an environment in which knowledge based industries can flourish.
The medical sciences & biotechnology cluster planned within Knowledge Economic City is being designed to cater specially to organizations operating in the health and life sciences sector. It is planned to provide medical services for the residents of Al Madinah but also to attract medical tourism building on the spiritual healing aspects of Al Madinah.
The medical cluster will be equipped with state of the art IT infrastructure to facilitate the latest advancements in the medical practice such as medical simulation and telemedicine.
KEC PR Manger Sarry Shaaban added “a main focus of research in the medical sciences & biotechnology cluster will be illnesses which are wide spread in Saudi Arabia.”
Knowledge Economic City is strategically located in Al Madinah just five kilometers from the holy mosque and seven kilometers from the international airport. The entire project, which spreads across an area of 4.8 million m², will have an aggregated investment of more than SR30 billion (US $ 8 billion) and take up to 12 years to complete. Once completed KEC will provide more than 20,000 jobs and accommodation for about 150,000 people.
About Knowledge Economic City Al Madinah (KEC)
KEC Madinah is one of four economic cities being developed in Saudi Arabia to boost regional development and provide employment for the country’s growing population by focusing on Intellectual Property, Knowledge-Based Industries, Medical, Hospitality, Tourism and Multi-Media.
The project is located at Al-Madinah, the home of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) where the Holy Quran was compiled. The project has special significance for Muslims throughout the world because of its location.
Knowledge Economic City is designed as a project that will position Saudi Arabia and young Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs as internationally respected leaders in knowledge based industries and aims to attract and develop talent from around the world. It will provide them with opportunities on a global scale while providing investors and entrepreneurs with infrastructure, opportunity, a unique pool of talent and the potential for a healthy return on investment.
More than 20,000 jobs and accommodation for about 150,000 people will be created by the project which will have an aggregated investment of more than SR25 billion and take up to 12 years to complete.
The other economic cities are King Abdullah Economic City in (Industrial, Port, Plastics and Light Manufacturing), Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed Economic City in Hail (Agriculture, Mining, Transportation and Logistics) and Jisan Economic City (Heavy, Oil, Metal and Energy Industries).
