RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is spending more than $500 million on building education “complexes” that will serve 90,000 students in major urban centers.
The Education Ministry, represented by the government-owned Tatweer Buildings Co., on Tuesday, signed an agreement with Al-Mabani Real Estate Co. to build 30 institutions for students in Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh.
The agreements include a short-term plan to establish 10 complexes across the three cities with a combined intake of 30,000 students. These will cost around SR800 million ($213 million) and are expected to be completed in 2022. There is also a long-term plan to set up 20 complexes for 60,000 students costing SR600 million. The complexes will be at locations approved by local authorities.
FASTFACT
•The education complexes will serve the needs of 90,000 students in the Kingdom.
•Initially, 10 complexes will be built in Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh at a cost of SR800 million.
•The first phase will be completed in 2022.
•In the later phase, 20 more complexes are planned at a cost of SR600 million.
Tatweer CEO Fahd Al-Hammad said the agreement represented opportunities for investors interested in building and operating high-quality education infrastructure with “state-of-the-art designs.”
Al-Mabani’s managing director, Abdulrahman Al-Ahmed, said the agreement supported the ministry’s strategy to develop the public sector schools environment through the establishment of complexes.
The agreement was signed under the patronage of Undersecretary of the Minister of Education Dr. Saad Al-Fuhaid and in the presence of Mohammed bin Eid Al-Otaibi, director general of education at the ministry.
Earlier this year, Education Minister Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh said Saudi Arabia was making efforts to improve the quality of its education sector’s infrastructure by encouraging public-private partnerships.
