I’ve just returned from spending a few days last week at the The Intelligent Cities Conference 2009
(ICC2009), where I was one of the keynote speakers.   It was held at the King
Abdulaziz Historical Hall, Umm Al-Qura University, Abdiyah – Makkah and organized by a collaboration between the Holy Makkah
Municipality, the Institute of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of
Hajj Research, and the Communications and Information Technology
Commission.

Saudi Arabia has made building new intelligent cities and transforming existing ones a national priority.  Saudi Arabia is launching six economic cities which are planned to be be completed by the year 2020. The intention is that these six new industrialized cities will diversify the economy of Saudi Arabia and promote economic development in each region of the country.  Cities underway or planned include the King Abdullah Economic City, near Rabigh on the western coast; the Knowledge Economic City, near Medina; and the Prince Abdulaziz bin Mousaed Economic City, in the north.  These cities are intended to be industrial centers that function also as housing and commercial hubs. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) forecasts that these cities to add $150 billion to the country’s GDP by 2020, create one million new jobs and house five million people.

This conference was focussed on intelligent cities technologies that could help in improving the services
for the pilgrims visiting Mecca, to improve the services to the citizens and residents of Mecca, and to enhance Mecca as an example and trend setter in the field of intelligent cities.  The conference organizers invited a wide range of participants and speakers including public and private sector decision makers, business leaders, technology providers, investors, and developers.