Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with plans to complete building work on a new megacity in the desert . The King Abdullah Economic City , or KAEC ( pronounced 'cake ' ) , will be slightly larger than Washington DC and home to approximately two million residents . Covering 70 square miles , the metropolis is costing £67 billion ( $ 100 billion ) and lies 100km from Jeddah , the commercial hub of the kingdom , near the Red Sea . Scroll down for video . Covering 70 square miles , the metropolis costs £67 billion ( $ 100 billion ) and will reinvigorate the country . The entrance of King Abdullah Economic City ( KAEC ) which will have a industrial complex and financial centre . The late king had pinned his hopes for his country 's future on the new-build , although at the moment it resembles a dusty building site dotted with cranes and work is not likely to be completed for ten years , at least . So far 15 per cent has been built , as public facilities and residential areas are still under construction . Plans include a port , industrial complex , a financial island , beach facilities and residential neighbourhoods . KAEC is one of four new cities being built to diversify an economy that is overly dependent on oil . Already it has its own website showing plans , maps and including details on how to invest . Fadi Al-Rasheed , the managing director of Emaar Economic City , the publicly traded Saudi company that runs the entire KAEC project , told the BBC : . Only 15 per cent has been developed , as public facilities and residential areas are still under construction . KAEC has its own website showing plans for the city , including details on how to invest in its growth . 'We 're building with the 65 per cent of the population who are under 30 in mind , ' he explains . 'And we have almost 200,000 Saudis studying abroad . Inevitably they are going to change things when they come back . ' Given that more women than men graduate from university , it is likely the Saudi landscape will shift over the coming years in more ways that one . Cranes stand beside new high rise buildings under construction in the King Abdullah financial district of Riyadh . There are 90 km of roads in use in KAEC but , under present deeply held religious beliefs prohibiting it , no women in the country are able to drive on them . The city 's future hinges on many things including the complex relationships between health , education , housing and employment requirements and infrastructure . It will also open up transport links around the kingdom and internationally . A group look at a model of the planned city which aims to create one of the world 's largest ports . 'We aim to create one of the world 's largest ports , ' Rayan Bukhari , a young manager at the King Abdullah port told the BBC . 'We 're not competing with Jeddah 's Islamic port - but we are going to take business away from Jebel Ali in Dubai . That 's because of our quicker , more automated offloading and customs procedure . ' The late King Abdullah had pinned his hopes for his country 's future on the innovative city as oil runs out . 'Freight arriving at the port will be taken directly to the capital via the new land bridge , ' he says , 'At the moment lots of products destined for Riyadh are shipped to Dubai , but that will change . They 'll be shipped here as it is cheaper - and can be delivered more quickly within the Kingdom . ' KAEC is also expected to become an important tourist stopover for pilgrims , aided by the fact Mecca and Medina are on the high speed train network that links KAEC with the two holy cities . At the moment Mecca is one hour and twenty minutes drive away and Medina is three hours by car . The Haramain train station will open at the end of this year and has been designed by British architect Norman Foster , also the man behind London 's 'Gerkin ' skyscraper and New York 's Hearst Tower . The station will provide acceleration to area 's developmental plan and will reduce the journey to Jeddah to 30 minutes.The megaproject on KAEC was announced in 2005 . The project is largely privately funded and the government has set up an Economic Cities Authority overseeing the four megacities able to deal swiftly with every licence , construction permit and approval needed .
The King Abdullah Economic City ( KAEC ) will be home to two million people in total . Metropolis is costing £67 billion and will cover 70 square miles , just 60 miles away from capital Jeddah . 15 per cent is finished and it 's hoped the city will help diversify the country .