Press Release
New Cities Foundation and King Abdullah Economic City announce first global
forum on world’s most important new city projects
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Cityquest – KAEC Forum, New Models for the Urban Century to take place in King
Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia – November 25-26, 2013.
King Abdullah Economic City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – October 3, 2013. The New Cities
Foundation and King Abdullah Economic City have announced the first-ever high level global event
dedicated to the world’s largest new city projects: Cityquest – KAEC Forum, New Models for the
Urban Century.
The invitation-only Forum will take place in King Abdullah Economic City, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, from November 25 – 26, 2013. It is co-organized by the New Cities Foundation, an
international non-profit organization, and King Abdullah Economic City, one of the largest and most
ambitious new city projects globally, encompassing a total area of 168 million sqm along the
coast of the Red Sea, and with a capacity to host a population of two million people when is
completed.
As the world enters the most rapid phase of urbanization in its history, new cities are being built to
meet the soaring demand for urban lifestyles and to accelerate the growth of the global economy.
Located primarily in the Middle East and Asia, these projects represent hundreds of billions of
dollars of investments, and hundreds of thousands of potential employment opportunities. They are
also laboratories for new innovations and technologies to be tested and scaled.
Cityquest – KAEC Forum gathers the largest, boldest new city projects from around the world. It is
open exclusively to a select group of up to 150 senior government and business leaders involved in
building these cities of the future. The primary aims of the event are to exchange practical
knowledge and concrete learning, and to build a strong and lasting network between new city
leaders.
The event will bring together the developers of large-scale new cities and city projects from Asia,
Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. They will be joined by specialists from a wide range of
industries, including government, finance, technology, architecture, construction, transport, tourism
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and education, which all play an important role in bringing these new cities from the architect’s
table to reality.
Participating cities:
King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Saudi Arabia
King Abdullah Economic City is one of the largest and most significant economic projects run by the private
sector in the Middle East. The city covers 168 million square meters of land and is being developed into a
fully integrated city. The city consists of: the Seaport, the Industrial Valley, the Leisure and Commercial
districts, the Haramain district, the Residential Coastal districts and the Resorts. KAEC represents one of the
most innovator public private partnerships around the world and is the flagship of the Saudi government’s
economic cities program.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), India
12km from the Ahmedabad International Airport, GIFT city is a global financial and IT services hub aimed at
attracting finance and tech firms away from traditional centers such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon
where infrastructure is either inadequate or very expensive. GIFT’s multi speciality economic zone (SEZ) will
provide a high quality of life and will implement measures to promote employment, attracting talent from
across the world.
HafenCity Hamburg, Germany
Europe’s largest inner city development project, covering 157 hectares, HafenCity defines a new downtown
- in both urban planning and architectural terms. HafenCity has reinforced Hamburg’s position as a maritime
city, combining waterfront with integrated offices and housing, Its construction, which is well underway, has
provided a new model for development for city centers across Europe.
Iskandar, Malaysia
Located in Johor, the Southern gateway to Peninsular Malaysia, Iskandar has easy access to leading
Asian cities. Five flagship zones will be developed in Iskandar, incorporating technology parks, an
international airport, a university park, a medical hub and a free trade zone.
Lavasa, India
Lavasa is one of India’s first planned hill cities aimed at creating a new standard of life, with all essential
components of daily life within walking distance of each other. The plan is based on the principles of New
Urbanism - an urban design movement promoting walkable and self-contained neighbourhoods. Located near
the Mumbai-Pune economic corridor, this hill city host approximately 0.3 million permanent residents, 2
million tourists and 97,000 employees.
Putrajaya, Malaysia
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Putrajaya will be the new Federal Government Administrative Centre of Malaysia, acting both as a “City in a
Garden” and an intelligent city. To meet this aim, about 38% of its area is being developed into parks, lakes
and wetlands while the rest is reserved for government offices, commercial and residential development,
public utilities and amenities. It will also implement multimedia technologies to facilitate communication and
interaction between Government offices and communities.
Rawabi, Palestine
Rawabi, the first planned Palestinian city, will integrate international planning principles, sustainable
environmental practices, state of-the-art infrastructure and easy access for both residents and visitors. The
Rawabi Foundation promotes sustainable development by fundraising for public facilities in the city and by
working to create employment opportunities for Rawabi’s 40,000 residents.
Skolkovo Innovation Center, Russia
Skolkovo Innovation Center is a high technology business area close to Moscow. With an aim to be a selfsustaining and self-contained center catering for business development and research., this 400-hectare site
already incubates nearly 1,000 Russian startups. Skolkovo will eventually house 25,000 residents governed
by a unique set of laws.
Songdo, South Korea
Officially opened in August 2009 as a free economic zone, Songdo IBD was the first new sustainable city in
the world designed as an international business district. It has been developed on 1,500 acres of reclaimed
land in South Korea along Incheon's waterfront, 40 miles from Seoul and 7 miles from Incheon International
Airport. This planned metropolis is a model of sustainable, city-scale development and includes commercial
office space, residences, retail shops, hotels and a wealth of civic facilities.
Mr. John Rossant, Founder and Chairman of the New Cities Foundation, said: “The
phenomenon of new cities will have a major impact on all our lives. Billions of dollars are
being invested into these urban mega projects, and if we don’t plan them right, the
consequences will be dramatic and far-reaching. We designed Cityquest – KAEC Forum as a
vital moment to promote frank exchange and pragmatic discussion about the biggest
challenges city leaders and builders need to tackle, right now, in order for these very diverse
metropolises to flourish, attract people and business, and impact positively on the world
economy. It’s time to talk about our urban future.”
Mr. Fahd Al-Rasheed, Managing Director and CEO of King Abdullah Economic City, said: “We
are committed to making Cityquest - KAEC Forum a rewarding and memorable experience for
participants, where business and thought leaders have access to great stores of knowledge
and experience. We expect participants to engage in transparent discussions that raise real
opportunities, challenges, and solutions. We have learned a great deal in developing King
Abdullah Economic City, and are keen to share and learn from other urban development
leaders around the world.”
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The event program will blend keynote speeches, panel discussions on key issues such as the role of
government, finance and technology in new cities, and short presentations from the participating
new city projects.
To find out more about sessions and speakers, visit www.cityquest.net. A full list of speakers will
be announced shortly.
Ends
International press contact:
Local press contact:
Marina Bradbury
Communications & Media Relations Manager
New Cities Foundation
[email protected]
+33 6 17 79 17 72
Dania Y. Beidas
PR Manager
King Abdullah Economic City
[email protected]
+966 (02) 615 9734
About the New Cities Foundation
The New Cities Foundation is a leading global non-profit organization, with a vision to build more
inclusive, dynamic and creative cities benefiting people and society. Its mission is to incubate, promote
and scale urban innovations through collaborative partnerships between government, business,
academia and civil society.
The New Cities Foundation hosts a number of leadership events on cities including its flagship event, the
New Cities Summit, and other leadership events worldwide. The next New Cities Summit will happen in
Dallas, Texas from June 17 - 19, 2013, following successful editions in São Paulo (2013) and Paris
(2012).
The Foundation’s applied research wing, the Urban (co)LAB, manages a number of projects including
Task Forces, thought leadership activities and competitions. Two major Task Forces include a pilot
project on Urban E-health in Rio de Janeiro and on Connected Commuting in San Jose, California. The
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Urban (co)LAB also manages the annual AppMyCity! Prize for the world’s best urban mobile app, and
seeks out the most talented urban innovators for the What Works series of talks hosted at the New Cities
Summit.
An independent, non-profit organization, the New Cities Foundation was created in 2010 and is
financed by its corporate members. Overall, its members include some of the most forward-thinking
companies, universities, cities and city organizations around the world. The New Cities Foundation’s
Founding Members are Cisco, Ericsson and GE. The Foundation is based in Geneva and its head office
is in Paris.
www.newcitiesfoundation.org
Facebook: /NewCitiesFoundation
Twitter: @newcitiesfound
About King Abdullah Economic City
King Abdullah Economic City is one of the largest and most important private sector initiatives in the
Middle East, encompassing a total area of 168 million sqm along the coast of the Red Sea. Through its
Industrial Valley, KAEC has succeeded in attracting more than 50 national and international industrial
companies. Strategically located and with its own seaport, KAEC offers a wide range of housing
solutions that are suitably priced for different income levels. The KAEC residential districts are supported
by a high quality infrastructure and a complete range of services and facilities such as The World
Academy School, which is already open with a future total capacity of 2,250 students, and a medical
center for primary care and emergency operated by Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital Company. In
addition, retail stores have been fully leased and restaurants, cafes, sales outlets and pharmacies are
already open.
www.kaec.net
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