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Yanbu
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The boom city of Yanbu
Twenty years ago, all that could be seen at Yanbu was an
insignificant Red Sea fishing port, surrounded by an arid coastal plain.
Today, Yanbu Industrial City together with its port ranks as one
of the exporting giants of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The
construction of this ultra-modern industrial base in such a short time
must surely be counted as one of the Kingdom's most astonishing
achievements.
Back in the 1960s, Saudi Arabia's vast petroleum deposits were still
being largely extracted by foreign countries, thirty years on from the
first discovery of oil. The dramatic rise in oil prices, however, which
began in the early seventies, heralded a glowing social and economic
future for the Kingdom. The dream to establish Saudi Arabia as a top
worldwide industrial exporter could at last begin to take shape.
The first step was taken with a Royal Decree in 1975, which first
established the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. In
1977, after two years of hard work, the Commission completed a 30-year
Master Plan, which laid down guidelines for the conversion of a
staggering 54,362 acres (22,000 hectares) of undeveloped desert land for
residential and industrial use.
Four basic industrial categories were to be established. The first
category, Primary Industries, incorporated all petroleum-based or
energy-intensive industries. Secondary Industries included production
industries using raw materials from the first category. Support
Industries and Light Manufacturing Industries were categorized as those
which produce materials or services needed by the first two categories.
The new Industrial City of Yanbu was planned as the spearhead for
the modernization of the whole of Saudi Arabia's rural northwestern
coastal region. It would also provide a new strategic outlet on Red Sea
shipping lanes, to handle most of the Kingdom's sea-borne trade.
Planners envisaged a city with housing and lifestyle facilities second
to none, and an urban population, which would exceed 100,000 by the year
2020. The Royal Commission planned 14 neighbourhoods, or residential
districts in the new city, which was to be known as "Yanbu
Industrial City" (Madinat Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah).
After an initial injection of government money, the strategy was to
provide incentives for increasing private investment. The Royal
Commission sought to achieve this by the establishment of functioning
primary and support industries, and by building an attractive
residential environment for both management and workforce. The
Commission's first priority was therefore to establish a physical
infrastructure, capable of supplying the needs of this growing urban
community.
Access was of paramount importance. This was aided considerably by Yanbu's
location within easy connecting range of the new Jeddah-Madinah highway.
Within the city itself, more than 261km/162 miles of new roads have been
built, a figure which is growing year by year.
Energy was the next important concern. An ultra-modern, 92-megawatt
power station was built, with power distribution by means of a network
of ecologically friendly underground cables. Water services for
irrigation, drinking and cooling -- especially vital in Yanbu's
desert climate -- were efficiently provided by a vast desalination
plant, which can produce 1,963,460 cubic feet/55,600 cubic meters of
fresh water per day. The pumping system provides 14,125,600 cubic
feet/400,000 cubic meters of sea-water per hour.
Water conservation has been carefully considered and irrigation water
for landscaping use is provided from sanitary wastewater. Industrial
wastewater is recycled and re-used in industry and for fire
extinguishing.
A top requirement for modern international business is an efficient
communications system, and again the Royal Commission surpassed itself.
Direct dial fibre-optic and satellite relays carry telephone, telex and
fax communications around the world, and a new cable TV station
broadcasts programmes throughout the day. Over 12,000 telephone and four
telex lines can handle 168 simultaneous users on a 'time share' system
and by a mobile radio paging system. The Emergency Services Control
Centre is computer-controlled.
The construction of the new port facilities at Yanbu probably
ranks as the greatest single item in the city's amazing transformation.
Until 1978, Yanbu's port contained only two berths of 33 feet/10
metres, with quay lengths of only 186 yards/170 metres and 230 yards/210
metres respectively. Today, the King Fahd port at Yanbu is one of
the world's longest industrial ports, stretching for more than 9
miles/15km along the coast and containing seven major terminals with 25
berths. The Red Sea's biggest port, it is serviced by a fleet of 31
modern tugboats and can accommodate super tankers up to 500,000dwt.
Roll-on, roll-off ('ro-ro'), heavy lift, container and dry cargo berths
in the general cargo and container terminal are serviced by three 40-ton
container gantry cranes. A 118-foot/36 metre Control Tower regulates
port traffic and there is ample warehouse stowage for containers and
general cargo.
In July 1981, the first of the new city's primary heavy industries was
ready to begin operations. This was ARAMCO's Crude Oil Terminal, the
western reception point for the trans-Kingdom pipeline from Jubail.
A second pipeline has now increased capacity from 1.8 million to 3
million barrels per day, and a direct pipeline from Iraq was opened in
summer 1989, which was designed to deliver more than 2.5 million barrels
of Iraq crude oil.
By 1988, eight heavy industries were operating in Yanbu,
including the Yanbu Petroleum Refinery (YPR), which received
international acclaim for its safety and efficiency record, and the Al-Lajeen
Aluminium Smelting Plant, designed to produce 220,000 tons of aluminum
per year. The latter is one of the Kingdom's largest privately owned
ventures, with a paid-up capital of SR600 million.
Every effort has been made to give Yanbu's residents a
comfortable lifestyle and attractive environment. Private business has
now taken over from the original Royal Commission, and an estimated
population of 113,000 is expected in ten years' time.
The city of Yanbu epitomizes practicality, efficiency and respect
for tradition, and represents one of Saudi Arabia's supreme
achievements.
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