Saudi Industrial Property Authority
Encyclopedia
Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON
MODON
frame|Established : 2001 Type : [[Public]]Category : [[Industrial district|Industrial cities]]Head Office : [[Riyadh]]Country : [[Saudi Arabia]]Website :...

) was created by the Government of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

 in 2001 through legislation by a Royal Decree. Its mission, as an independent public agency, is the regulation and promotion of Industrial Estates and Technology Zones in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on both public and private industrial lands; and to encourage the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

 to become involved in the development, operation and maintenance of Industrial Estates. MODON’s larger goal is to have a Saudi industry capable to compete locally and globally.

Existing Industrial Cities

MODON has set up 14 industrial cities and oversees the organization of these cities spread over various regions of the Kingdom on a total area of approximately 237 million square meters in Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...

, Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...

, Dammam
Dammam
Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, the most oil-rich region in the world. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province and several government departments are located in the city. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province and third largest in Saudi...

, Makkah, Qassim, Al-Ahsa, Madinah, Assir, Al Jouf, Tabuk, Hail and Najran. The investments in these cities exceed 200 billion riyals ($.53.33 billion) and more than 300 thousand workers are employed.

Industrial Cities under development

MODON is developing new industrial cities in Sudair, Jazan, Ar’ar, Al-Kharj, Al-Gurayaat, Zulfi, Al-Baha and a second industrial estate in Jeddah. Also, MODON is re-developing existing industrial cities, as well as building model factories.

MODON is also establishing industrial cities in the reformatories of Al-Ha'er and Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...

 in cooperation with the Public Administration of Prisons.

Technology Zones

Technology zones are known around the world as Science Parks, Technology Parks, Research Parks, Techno-polis, or Innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...

 Centers. The term technology zone usually denotes a focus on technology, innovation, and tenant companies’ involvement in knowledge-based activities.

The International Association of Science Parks defines a science park as:
  • a property-based initiative, which has formal and operational links with universities or other higher educational institution, or major centers of research;

  • designed to encourage the formation and growth of knowledge-based industries, or high value-added firms, normally resident on site; and

  • has a steady management team actively engaged in fostering the transfer of technology and business skills to tenant organizations.


Technology zones are designed to facilitate the production and commercialization of advanced technologies by forging synergies among research centers, education institutions, and technology-based companies. Tenants of technology zones are mostly small companies pursuing an ambitious growth strategy based on the development and commercialization of new technology. Large and multinational companies are usually attracted to these zones as anchor tenants. To facilitate the successful commercialization of new technology in the market place, technology zone provide:
  • networking and coordination with scientific research institutes and laboratories;

  • financial support, consulting, and assistance in obtaining venture capital;

  • professional, technical, administrative and legal assistance;

  • information and telecommunications services; and

  • supportive business infrastructure.


By aiding the growth of tenant companies, technology zones play a significant role in the development of local economies. They help create high-tech industries, jobs, attract foreign capital, and increase local and national competitiveness
Competitiveness
Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market...

. This developmental role is particularly important in transition economies
Transition economy
A transition economy or transitional economy is an economy which is changing from a centrally planned economy to a free market. Transition economies undergo economic liberalization, where market forces set prices rather than a central planning organization and trade barriers are removed,...

, which must absorb a great deal of structural unemployment and "catch-up" with rapid technological developments in the global economy.

MODON achievements

Enterprise Business Solutions contract with the Saudi Telecom Company
Saudi Telecom Company
Saudi Telecom Group, STC is a Saudi Arabia-based telecommunications company that offers landline, mobile and Internet services.-Background:...

 to provide the industrial cities with the latest technical services and an integrated security system for the protection of those cities through 24-hour surveillance using advanced technical methods, and the work is in progress. The existing industrial cities will become smart industrial cities upon completion of this project.

Build-Operate-Transfer
Build-Operate-Transfer
Build-own-operate-transfer or build-operate-transfer is a form of project financing, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct, and operate a facility stated in the concession contract...

 (BOT) contracts for the provision of water in the industrial cities of Jeddah, Riyadh, Al-Qassim, Dammam and Al-Ahsa. The specialty of this product is to provide vital water to the industrial cities at very competitive prices.

Transmission of electricity to the industrial cities.

"District Cooling" project, in Jeddah 2nd industrial city, as the first project of its kind in the industrial cities, characterized with less energy consumption, lower cost and less pollution of the environment
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...

.

Project Management System (PMS), a sophisticated electronic system to manage MODON’s property and facilitate the allocation of industrial lands.

Security Services project to provide security services in the industrial cities round the clock. Approximately 240 employees are working on the project.

Sudair Industrial City

This will be the biggest project upon completion. It will change the concept of industrial cities. It will be totally integrated urban city reflecting the new outlook of MODON and will be an industrial success. The Sudair Industrial City will be provided with all integrated services, both key services such as water and energy, and support services such as housing, education, business and recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...

 centers, research centers and transportation, among others. MODON has already appointed an internationally renowned company specializing in planning as consultancy to design the concept of this city.

Strategically located on a highway between Riyadh and Al-Qassim, it will occupy an area of 257 million square meters and would be a complete city, which will help the people of the Sudair region. Development of this city is to start in 2009.

Director General of MODON

Dr. Tawfig Alrabiah is currently occupying the position of Director General Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON). Since he undertook this post at (MODON), a lot of achievements have been realized namely: launching of new industrial cities development, expansion of some existing cities and re-establishing some cities. In addition, water services, central cooling services, development of telecommunications and data services in industrial cities are also privatized. He adopted the idea of building smart cities within the industrial cities by providing high-speed communication networks with smart services. Also public services, commercial and governmental services in the industrial cities have been improved. During his tenure, MODON has achieved a qualitative improvement in the services provided and in the amount of industrial lands allocation.

Dr. Tawfig Alrabiah has contributed in the establishment and development of a group of some factories and businesses in the Kingdom. Dr. Alrabiah worked as Director General of the Information and Communications Technology sector at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority
The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority was created by the Saudi Government on April 10, 2000 as part of measures geared towards formalizing the process of economic liberalization. SAGIA is responsible for managing the investment environment in the Kingdom...

 where he played a distinguished role in attracting huge international investments in this field. He has also worked as a board member of the Saudi National IT Plan Council, faculty member at King Saud University, and board member of the Saudi Computer Society.

Dr. Alrabiah holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

, M.S. in Computer Science and another M.S. degree in Information Science, a bachelor's degree in Financial Management and Mathematics from the College of Business Administration, King Saud University. He has published more than 16 papers in refereed international journals and conferences, and co-authored a book on high speed networks. Also, he co-authored the Saudi National IT Plan vision document which formed the basis for developing the Saudi National IT plan. He has written many articles in different local newspapers related to e-government, e-commerce, and telecom, and has participated in different discussion panels. Dr. Alrabiah worked as consultant for a number of government and private organizations.

External links

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