The Construction Site Called Saudi Arabia

January 22, 2008 7:47 AM

Six new cities are planed in The Construction Site Called Saudi Arabia. "The vision is to turn the kingdom into a major industrial power by 2020. Drawings of these new towns depict a cross of the futuristic “Blade Runner” and traditional Arabic design." The cities will focus on petrochemicals, aluminum, steel and fertilizers, and will together have four times the geographical area of Hong Kong, three times the population of Dubai, and an economic output equal to Singapore’s.

First city: King Abdullah Economic City
Official
Wikipedia
CNN clip

Second city: Jazan Economic City
Wikipedia

Third city: Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed Economic City
Press release

Fourth city: Knowledge Economic City, Medina
Official

Fifth city: {unknown}
Press release

Sixth city: {unknown}

posted by stbalbach (53 comments total)

Centrally-planned economies are always such fun; I swear, every bureaucrat on the face of the earth has a copy of Radiant City somewhere on their bookshelf, and spends their lunch hours dreaming of what it would be like if they were the ones in charge of everything, laying out Special Economic Zone Areas Of Cultural Heritage Industries and the like.
posted by aramaic at 7:53 AM on January 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've never heard Saudis sound so Chinese.
posted by rokusan at 7:58 AM on January 22, 2008

This would be a great time to develop economically viable nuclear fusion. Just so we can stick it to them.
posted by Pastabagel at 8:00 AM on January 22, 2008 [2 favorites]

Worst city names ever. I mean they're spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they can't come up with something better than King Abdullah Economic City? By all means, name it after the King, and the other after the Prince, and so on, but give it a little zing or something ferallah's sake
posted by poppo at 8:01 AM on January 22, 2008

They can ask their pals in Dubai what the best way to exploit migrant labour is...
posted by PenDevil at 8:03 AM on January 22, 2008 [2 favorites]

You know who's going to love this?

The planet Earth.
posted by poweredbybeard at 8:05 AM on January 22, 2008 [10 favorites]

They can ask their pals in Dubai what the best way to exploit migrant labour is...

The Saudis were exploiting migrant labour when Dubai was still a little pearl fishing and gold smuggling town.
posted by atrazine at 8:08 AM on January 22, 2008

The vision is to turn the kingdom into a major industrial power by 2020.

In order to build an industrial capitalist economy you need to have a certain set of values in place.

Those values are not characteristic of mainstream Saudi culture and are not likely to become so in the space of twelve years.

How do you say "white elephant" in Arabic?
posted by jason's_planet at 8:09 AM on January 22, 2008 [2 favorites]

In order to build an industrial capitalist economy you need to have a certain set of values in place.

Like wanting to screw the little guy? I think the Saudis will be OK with that.

Why aren't these guys setting up solar arrays? They've got the location and resources to dominate the next generation of energy supplies and they don't seem to be jumping on board. (Not that I necessarily mind.)
posted by DU at 8:13 AM on January 22, 2008

This would be a great time to develop economically viable nuclear fusion. Just so we can stick it to them.

One joy of any new year is you can move the counter on for fusion. Now expected 2058.
posted by biffa at 8:25 AM on January 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

The cities will focus on petrochemicals, aluminum, steel and fertilizers

Do you think they'll make the palm trees and grass out of plastic? Also, isn't it hard to set up a city in the middle of desert? Don't you need something particularly alluring to sustain yourself, like, I don't know, casinos? I can see it now: What happens in Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed Economic City stays in Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed Economic City.
posted by billysumday at 8:31 AM on January 22, 2008 [2 favorites]

My brother and I have applied for permission to open a kosher delicatessen and
then hope to open franchises throughout the Kingdom. Ads will say:
My Kingdom for a kosher hotdog, with kraut
posted by Postroad at 8:33 AM on January 22, 2008

Me Jazan. You Tane.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:38 AM on January 22, 2008

Meanwhile, in Gaza City...
posted by Brocktoon at 8:44 AM on January 22, 2008

You know who's going to love this? The planet Earth.
Why aren't these guys setting up solar arrays?

Abu Dhabi is building a zero-waste, zero-carbon, car-less city centered around a new alternative energy industry.
posted by specialfriend at 8:46 AM on January 22, 2008 [3 favorites]

Also, Blue City, Oman.
posted by nthdegx at 8:48 AM on January 22, 2008

Your gasoline dollars at work.
posted by beagle at 8:57 AM on January 22, 2008

I like that these are the economic cities, implying the existence of other types. Prince Bandar Hedonism City. King Fahd Doing That Lululululululu Thing City. Prince Conan Crushing Your Enemies Seeing Them Driven Before You And Hearing The Lamentations Of Their Women City. Roscoe's Fried Chicken And Waffle City. Chairman Kaga Culinary Combat City. The mind boggles at what Saudi can achieve.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:06 AM on January 22, 2008 [7 favorites]

The cities will focus on petrochemicals, aluminum, steel and fertilizers

Why anyone would be focusing on dead industrial models is beyond me.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:11 AM on January 22, 2008

They better get cracking on Desalination City before their aquifer is depleted. You can't manufacture steel or fertilizer without water, let alone provide for human habitation.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:14 AM on January 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

I like that these are the economic cities, implying the existence of other types.

It's been done: King Khalid Military City
posted by me & my monkey at 9:19 AM on January 22, 2008

The cities will focus on petrochemicals, aluminum, steel and fertilizers

Why anyone would be focusing on dead industrial models is beyond me.

They're looking to India and China as their main partners, I imagine.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:21 AM on January 22, 2008

This will make for some fantastic modern ruin photography.
posted by TwelveTwo at 9:22 AM on January 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

The industries are "dead" in the US because other countries can do it cheaper. They rely on oil: aluminum and steel need cheap sources of energy, fertilizer is made with fossil fuel. The idea is, rather than exporting raw products to be mfg'd somewhere else, do the mfg in-house. It creates jobs, improves standard of living, creates a viable long-term economy that in time will evolve to the point where it won't be dependent on oil, if/when the day comes oil is no longer the cash cow it is now.
posted by stbalbach at 9:24 AM on January 22, 2008

The cities will focus on petrochemicals

I was expecting soybeans and copper mines.... oh well.
posted by mattbucher at 9:32 AM on January 22, 2008

Is the goal of these cities to be places for Saudis to move to? Or are they trying to attract Westerners to move there? Their advertising seems to suggest the latter to me.
posted by dios at 9:39 AM on January 22, 2008

(Erm, I should note that my reaction was specific to the website for the Blue City which includes a picture of a Western model on a yacht. That struck me as odd. Looking back over the Saudi pictures, I guess they are in traditional dress.)
posted by dios at 9:47 AM on January 22, 2008

Better than oil.
posted by koeselitz at 9:49 AM on January 22, 2008

It's a good thing to diversify in Saudi Arabia. There is a direct connection between a single, easily-dominated industry and the funding of extremists. Any diversification is a plus for the country and the world's future.

Dios, most likely they will need lots and lots of Westerners in order to get these up and running. They won't need to 'advertise' to the locals nearly as much.
posted by cell divide at 9:51 AM on January 22, 2008

It's about time they did something worthwhile with all that oil money.
posted by notyou at 9:51 AM on January 22, 2008

They better get cracking on Desalination City before their aquifer is depleted. You can't manufacture steel or fertilizer without water, let alone provide for human habitation.

That's what desalinization plants are for. Trouble is, you need a lot of electricity for that, electricity that can come from burning petrochemicals. Now where can you find a shitload of petrochemicals? Hmmm....
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:52 AM on January 22, 2008

The Saudis have been working on this kind of thing since oil prices started to jump around in the mid-80s. The main thing standing in their way has been the fact that way in the beginning, when oil was expensive and life was good, the Kingdom promised huge benefits to the population - and to major opposition figures - to keep things running smoothly. When oil started to go down, the Saudis tried to cut back on spending, but found they couldn't do it. People had gotten used to the subsidized gas and the free healthcare and the funds to keep you quiet and happy if the presence of the kafir American soldiers on your soil got you bothered.

So, the Kingdom has been trying to diversify for some time now, but just hasn't got the hang of it. Oil's too valuable and the revenue too necessary to allow you to divert your government funds to alternative projects. The hope with these cities is to let them be both industrial zones and benefit generators. Want to live in a cheap apartment? Move to King Abdullah Awesomeness City! Want a free school for your kids? For definitely! But you have to promise to retrain as an aluminum factory worker.

As for exploiting migrant labor, Saudi is actually in the opposite position. They have too many citizens hanging around not working, and their plan - again, since the mid-80s - has been trying to convince them to get back to work. My guess is that these cities will be part of that strategy.

Oh, and Jasons_Planet? The word for "white elephant" in Arabic is al-phiil al-abyad, الفيل الابيض.
posted by awenner at 9:53 AM on January 22, 2008 [2 favorites]

It creates jobs, improves standard of living, creates a viable long-term economy that in time will evolve to the point where it won't be dependent on oil, if/when the day comes oil is no longer the cash cow it is now.

Which is exactly what Dr. Bashir and Matt Damon were going for in Syriana...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:54 AM on January 22, 2008

The word for "white elephant" in Arabic is al-phiil al-abyad, الفيل الابيض.

Much obliged. Thank you!
posted by jason's_planet at 10:20 AM on January 22, 2008

They should build a secret Hedonism City too. Then men won't have to travel out of Saudi Arabia to break Sharia and have wild drunken orgies anymore. And women could drive & stuff.
posted by miss lynnster at 11:00 AM on January 22, 2008

jason's planet... just FYI I believe "THE white elephant" is al-phiil al-abyad and "A white elephant" is phiil abyad. The first is if you're talking specific/definite, the second is general/indefinite.

Not that it matters to anyone. I'm just shocked that knowing some arabic actually came in handy in a conversation so I thought I'd share.
posted by miss lynnster at 11:05 AM on January 22, 2008

I can see why they'd go for aluminium. Making aluminium requires enormous amounts of power. Having cheap energy available locally really gives you a leg up in that biz.

Iceland, with its cheap geothermal power, produces a lot of aluminium. It's actually cost-effective to ship Australian bauxite halfway across the world to Iceland for processing.

Mind you, I wouldn't want to live next to a Saudi aluminium facility. Aluminium production is an awful polluter.
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:31 AM on January 22, 2008

Well congrats to them if they find their way out of the oil trap, though one can't help having the feeling it'll just be another massive egowank rather than anything viable.
posted by Artw at 11:56 AM on January 22, 2008

All this stuff is going to be built at sea level?
posted by doctor_negative at 12:48 PM on January 22, 2008

I wonder if they will let people drink alcohol at "Seera Land"? the idea of an Islamic theme park is very... interesting to me. I can't imagine a theme park without alcohol, and yet, if there is one in the world, this will definitely be it, right? (It's in Knowledge Economic City, Medina).

I'm sorry, but the names of these cities are making me have Epcot flashbacks for some reason.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 1:08 PM on January 22, 2008

They should build a secret Hedonism City too.

Some people call this place "Bahrain."

Or, London.

;-)
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:18 PM on January 22, 2008 [2 favorites]

Nice stuff. Thanks for the link to the NYT piece, I was unaware of these plans.

Briefly, on new "green" cities: a new green city is a contradiction in terms. The energy deployed in building an entirely new city of any kind will always, always, be more wasteful than using that energy to make an existing city work better for more people. Unless stupendous population growth and/or rural-urban migration is occurring, building new cities is a massively wasteful thing to do, no matter how many solar panels you stick on top of them. New build is always more wasteful than energy-efficiency on the infrastructure we have. It is madness to claim something is green because it consumes little or no energy after an absurd quantity of energy has been expended bringing it into existence in the first place. I love a good utopian city scheme, and I wish citybuilders everywhere every success and congratulate them on their ambition, but new cities are never "green".
posted by WPW at 1:26 PM on January 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

NB I'm aware the Saudis aren't making these claims, I was mostly talking about Abu Dhabi and the various Chinese schemes. It was a bee that has been buzzing in my bonnet for a while and I feel much better now I've had a bit of a rant. Green cities, I don't think. Pfeh. Bah, humbug. Etc.
posted by WPW at 1:29 PM on January 22, 2008

This is clearly a sign that there is much less oil left in Saudi Arabia than everybody thinks there is.
posted by sour cream at 1:44 PM on January 22, 2008

This is clearly a sign that there is much less oil left in Saudi Arabia than everybody thinks there is.

Or it could be exactly the opposite, and they're counting on continuing oil revenues to bankroll these massive projects while they diversify into other economies at their leisure.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:59 PM on January 22, 2008

Hey, where are all the famous glass parking lots I've been hearing so much about???
posted by crowman at 5:53 PM on January 22, 2008

The one brainstumper for me is this:

Dubai is about three feet above sea level. Saudi Arabia surely isn't much higher in elevation.

WTF are they going to do as the sea levels rise? I know they've got sand up the wazoo for the sand-bagging anti-flood efforts, but unless they're planning to pull a Holland, I don't see that there's a whole lot of win in the future for them.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:02 PM on January 22, 2008

I don't know what the average height is however there are a lot of mountains in Saudi Arabia, some are as high as 3000m above sea level.
posted by Mitheral at 8:58 PM on January 22, 2008

fff, Saudi Arabia is larger than Alaska. There's no sense characterizing all of it on the basis of the elevation of a port city on the same landmass. Port cities have this certain characteristic of being close to sea level.
posted by dhartung at 10:41 PM on January 22, 2008

Ten bucks says this is part of their payoff for going along with Bush on the Iraq war.
posted by Clay201 at 10:48 PM on January 22, 2008

dhartung writes "Port cities have this certain characteristic of being close to sea level"

Sure, at least a bit. but not every port is New Orleans flood plain flat. Québec is a port city but it's a good 600 ft above sea level and isn't at risk from global warming caused flooding. Doesn't San Fransisco have a port of some sort? Lots of well above sea level areas there. Even Halifax right on the ocean has lots of land well above sea level.
posted by Mitheral at 11:36 PM on January 22, 2008

WTF are they going to do as the sea levels rise?

Apparently you've never heard of the Netherlands?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:03 AM on January 23, 2008

For anyone who's interested in a more substantial look at this topic, there's an excellent book by Terry Karl, called The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States, which treats the sort of remarkable failure of oil-states to do anything at all successfully, except buy off their populations until the oil runs out or prices fall (at which point there is inevtiably massive unrest).

There's a lot to this book, among other things a theory about why rentier countries (basically, countries with lots of oil) don't become democracies. Apropos of the FPP topic, she shows why these kinds of projects have almost never worked in the past: the massive public investment schemes of Venezuela in the 70s and Algeria before and after, directed at creating a modern industrial economy, were doomed to failure by the very nature of the system which attempted to create them: state directed industrialization.

This may sound like some kind of World Bank/Neoliberal only-private-investment-works propaganda but I assure you it isn't. I'm not entirely convinced by her arguments or even by the rentier state model but I think it has value. Oh, also, for even further reading, there's Giacomo Luciani's original book: he invented the rentier theory that Karl is working with; incredibly, his book is out of print, but I'm sure it can be dug up somewhere.

As for the Saudis and their absurd scheme: good luck with that.

Or, actually, not.
posted by jackbrown at 12:55 PM on January 23, 2008