City Update: Dammam

The landbridge, with Dammam as a hub, will help boost trade in KSA.

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The completion of Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport has created an important gateway to this city in the Eastern Province (EP).

Thanks to its vast size – it is after all bigger than the island of Bahrain – the city has opened up an area for international construction bodies and their plant to come and operate in the capital of Saudi Arabia’s EP.

Heading of out of the airport however, contractors, developers and engineers may find they have their work cut out for them as the infrastructure in the city leaves a lot to be desired. As concepts move into reality though, patchy roads are set to be a thing of the past.

Last month (February), it was announced that Saudi Arabia will construct 6400km of new roads with this year’s budget allocation. And, part of these funds will be spent on the first phase of the double lane road linking Riyadh-Dammam expressway with the Abu Hadriah-Dammam road and Dammam-Jubail road, as well as the linking of the King Fahd Airport road with the Abqaiq-Dhahran road.

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“With a total spend of SR11.87 billion (US $3.17 billion), which includes surplus from the past years, 316 road projects have been approved,” said transport minister Jebara Al-Seraisry. 

“The approval also includes the completion of the projects that were launched in the past years.”

But, the largest project set to be built in Dammam is the Saudi Landbridge project, which is expected to play a vital role in boosting trade across the whole of Saudi Arabia by linking the East and West coasts.

The line will also be connected with Yanbu and Jubail. The project involves the construction of 950km of new railway tracks between Riyadh and Jeddah, and another 115km line between Dammam and Jubail – one of the most important projects, according to Jones Lang LaSalle research manager Fayyaz Ahmad.

In terms of powering Dammam, several projects are already underway including the construction of a 13.8/69KV substation in the city’s industrial city. Cogelec Alsthom Company was awarded the main construction contract in July 2009 and the $17 million project is expected to be completed in January 2012.

In addition, South Korean contractor Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, and its Saudi partner Bemco has signed a $1 billion deal with the Saudi Electricity Company to construct a 1330MW power plant near Damman.

The contract will see the company provide steam turbines and heat recovery steam generators, amongst other major elements, for the Qurayyah Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant which is scheduled for completion in 2013.

Meanwhile, as those people passing through Dammam’s airport are adding to the already increasing population, there is a huge demand for housing in the city.

In light of this, a master-planned community will be built between Dammam and neighbouring Khobar. Riyadh-based developer Injaz Development announced in October that its Al Marina project had now received formal approval, and began sourcing investors and sub-developers at Cityscape Dubai.

“We are talking to institutional, as well as individual investors and potential partners who would be interested in developing and constructing hospitals, schools, malls and as residential facilities,” says Injaz managing director Omar Abdullah Al Kadi.

Al Marina will be a masterplanned community for 45,000 people on the Al-Khobar-Damman coastal corridor. Of the 3.3 million m² of land allocated to the project, 41.4% will be for residential and commercial purposes, 42.2% for public spaces and over 16% for government services.