The industrial area has existed for more than 30 years, and has more than 2,090 workshops and about 180 warehouses. The move is expected to provide a cleaner living environment for residents and would be aligned to the developments taking place at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Wajdi Haider, director of project management at the JDURC, said the new location is over 5 million square meters with integrated services and infrastructure, and linked to development projects in Jeddah.

Haider said the project caters to workshops, warehouses and light industries on Usfan road southeast of King Abdulaziz University’s satellite campus. “About 50 percent of the infrastructure for the first phase, over 996,000 square meters, is complete. The first phase will be completed early next year.”

Haidar said that the new scheme would have all the facilities and services needed by businesspeople and has been developed according to world-class standards.

He said the current Al-Nuzha industrial area does not fit into the current location, which has seen homes built there over the past three decades. It is at the entrance to the city, coming from King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Haider told Arab News that the project would eventually absorb more than 4,000 facilities, and have a network of roads. There would be separate zones for specific industries, and provide more than 25,000 jobs.