Orange Business Services (OBS) has signed a consulting agreement with Jeddah Economic City (JEC), the master developer of the under-construction Jeddah Tower. As per the terms of the deal, OBS will create a blueprint for the ICT infrastructure of the tower, from planning to design and to the build and run phases.
Once complete, Jeddah Tower is expected to become the tallest building in the world, standing over 1km tall. The tower is part of the 5.3m sqm Jeddah Economic City project, which is located between the two Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia.
The city is being built to become the sustainable new northern district of the city of Jeddah and the focus of economic growth along the coast. It aims to attract businesses, residents, tourists and entertainment seekers, retail outlets, medical centres and government offices and services and will become ‘the new downtown of uptown Jeddah’.
“The project aims to offer an advanced quality of life in a mixed-use environment; with residential apartments of different types, offices, retail leisure and entertainment, hotels and tourism attractions public and cultural amenities, that will provide thousands of job opportunities for young Saudis in various fields and numerous investment opportunities. The implementation of the smart city components is considered as an essential step for delivering an environmentally friendly self-sustainable project. The construction of the infrastructure is going according to the set timeframe along with the supply of utilities. Next year, land for development will be ready for investors to start construction,” explained Mounib Hammoud, CEO of Jeddah Economic City.
Orange Business Services is already working on multiple smart city projects in the Kingdom. The firm says it is involved in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), which is the largest of four smart cities being developed in Saudi Arabia. The total investment going into the four cities is said to be around $70bn.
“In Saudi Arabia, smart city projects are gaining momentum fast and are setting the pace for the region’s rapidly growing economic and technological developments planned under the Saudi National Vision 2030. Orange brings a wealth of experience in developing infrastructures and smart services for smart cities on a global level, together with insights, innovations and expertise. This includes cutting-edge digital technologies that will have a transformative impact on the way people live and how businesses will work in the future. We are delighted to be working with JEC to help them achieve their vision of transformation in the Kingdom,” added Luc Serviant, vice president Middle East & Africa, Orange Business Services.