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HISTORY OF JUBAIL INDUSTRIAL CITY

Jubail , is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. Its full name is Madinat al Jubayl a ina`iyah (Jubail Industrial City). It has a population of 222,544 (2004 census), up 58% from the 1992 figure of 140,828.


In 1975, along with Yanbu' al Bahr, Jubail was designated as a new industrial city by the Saudi government, and has seen rapid expansion and industrialization since. The industrial city is a complex of petrochemical plants, an iron works and a number of smaller companies, plus a Royal Saudi Naval Base. It held the Middle East's largest and the world's 11th largest petrochemical company, SABIC.

Jubail is home to the world's largest seawater desalination plant. It provides 50% of the country's drinking water through desalination of the water from the Persian Gulf.

HISTORY
The town of Al-Jubail on the Persian Gulf coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ancient roots. Human habitation dates back at least 7,000 years when the people of Dilmun - whose civilization radiated up and down the Gulf - established a settlement there. The first human settler might have been encouraged to stay by the sites fine natural harbor and the abundance of fish and pearl oysters just offshore. More importantly, the presence of potable water wells near the town ensured the continued viability of human settlement.

In September 1933, Jubail gained a measure of fame as the landing site for the first team of geologists to explore for oil in Saudi Arabia. In 1983, Jubail staked an even greater claim to fame, as the Jubail industrial city project was cited in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest engineering and construction project ever attempted.

Bechtel began work on the Jubail Industrial City project more than 30 years ago and is still working in Jubail now. In fact, Jubail is the largest ongoing civil engineering project in the world today. It also stands as one of the greatest achievements of Bechtel, its employees, and families who worked and lived there. Bechtel has managed the Jubail project located since it began in the mid-1970s, and in 2004, the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu asked the company to manage Jubail II, a $3.8 billion expansion of the citys industrial and residential areas.

Jubail is a complete city, with all the industry, infrastructure, housing, shopping, educational and medical facilities required to support its present population of almost 100,000 people. Saudi Arabian Bechtel Company (SABCO) performs ongoing engineering, procurement and construction management. Jubail II will add a second industrial area to house up to 22 new primary industries. The project calls for the expansion of King Fahd Industrial Port, pipeline refurbishment, increasing capacity of the cooling system, and new desalination plants.

Today, the former stretch of sand dunes and salt flats north of old Jubail is called Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabias biggest industrial center, host to more than 160 industrial enterprises and home to almost 170,000 full-time residents.