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T he Jizan Economic City (JEC) announced that it has appointed Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking, to support the creation of the critical information and communications technology (ICT) master plan for its ambitious smart city project. The Cisco Smart+Connected Communities project at JEC will be coordinated in conjunction with JEC's master plan developers, Malaysian MMC Corp. and the Saudi Binladen Group (SBG). The 100-million- square-meter "smart city" project aims to attract considerable global investment of more than SR 100 billion and will establish the presence of a number of major industries in the city, such as local energy production, material, manpower and lifestyle. It also aims to create more than 500,000 new jobs in the various industries and service-oriented companies that will be established in JEC. Cisco's Smart+Connected Communi- ties project helps transform physical communities into connected communities that can help to realize sustainable economic growth, deliver environmental sustainability through resource management and operational efficiencies, and enhance the quality of life. Cisco works with its customers from idea to execution and uses vertical solutions built on the network as an open integrated platform, along with a broad ecosystem of partners and innovative business models, to change the way communities are designed, built, managed and renewed. Constituents of Smart+Connected Communities have access to information and services that enrich their lives, with technology solutions for their home, schools, transportation and more. This initiative provides solutions and services that cater to the stakeholders in commercial real estate markets and is specifically tailored to add value to individuals and companies that create and operate real estate for financial gain. Connected Real Estate principles are applied to increase revenues, reduce cost and consequently improve profits, increasing shareholder value. Adzreen Aziz, project director of JEC, said that the wealth of experience that Cisco has in conceptualizing and managing Smart+Connected Communi- ties across the world has been instrumental in providing us with a workable and justifiable framework for the planning and implementation of JEC information communications technology services towards making JEC a safe, convenient, exciting, cost-effective and attractive city to live in for both residents and investors. On his part, Caspar Herzberg, senior director of Cisco Advisory Services, said: "Cisco's Smart+Connected Communi- ties initiative was developed to be a globally replicable model. It has the potential to play a major role in transforming real estate developments in the regional areas. Together with MMC and SBG, Cisco will provide a smart and world-class services platform that will help achieve JEC's vision." As the Kingdom's most sophisticated heavy industrial zone, JEC offers an unparalleled environment for energy- intensive industries in a fully metropolitan design. The economic city will cover a total area of 100 million sq. meters located 60 km north west of Jizan city on the Red Sea coast, with an expected population of 300,000 and a total investment of $27 billion. Jizan Economic City's guiding philosophy is one of symbiotic development, establishing mutually reinforcing industry clusters. The primary anchors of port, power and desalination, oil, aluminum, steel and copper provide strong downstream opportunities with industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals, food processing and high value agritech producers within a growing regional environment.