Saudi Arabia has announced several infrastructure and development projects in the Tabuk region of the country, according to local reports.
The total outlay of the projects is more than SR12.6 billion ($3.4 billion), said the local reports.
The projects will include initiatives related to housing, transportation, environment, and agriculture, the reports quoted Tabuk Governor Prince Fahd bin Sultan as saying.
He is also the chairman of the region’s Tourism Development Council.
Tabuk is currently the epicenter of quite a bit of activity, thanks in no little part to the substation of the Saudi Electricity Company’s Green Duba power plant having a substation there.
This substation is expected to linked the plant to the country’s power grid.
Tabuk City also happens to be a hub for tourists who wish to explore the northern parts of Saudi Arabia.
For example, the Dhat Al-Hajj fort that lies between the Halat Ammar Center and Tabuk city on the ancient Shami Hajj Road has for centuries been used by pilgrims bound for Mecca and Medina as a resting place.
The province is also known for heritage sites like the Hisma Mountains, and its islands and beaches.
With Saudi Arabia actively diversifying its economy to end its heavy dependence on oil, tourism is one sector it is focusing on.
The infrastructure projects in Tabuk could well be a push in that direction, as the country looks to recover from the economic setbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic and opens up to the world.