RIYADH, 29 June 2005 — The King Faisal Foundation (KFH) signed an agreement yesterday with a leading Malaysian construction company to build the first-ever private university in the Kingdom. It will open for students in September 2006.

The SR385.8 million contract for the construction of Al-Faisaliah University was signed by Prince Bandar ibn Saud, chairman of the executive board of the university, and Wan Zakariah Muda, managing director of Ahmad Zaki Resources Berhad.

Asir Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of the board of trustees of the university and director general of KFH, and Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari were present.

Prince Khaled told reporters that the construction work would begin immediately for the university, which will be located within the King Faisal Palace in Nasseriyah district.

The contract was signed to carry out the first two phases of the project. The first phase costing SR168.5 million will be completed within 15 months and the second will be completed in 21 months at a cost of SR217.3 million.

The university which will have a capacity of 4,000 students would initially accommodate around 200 students who would follow courses in science and technology.

The board of trustees of the university includes representatives from Dallah Al-Baraka, Al-Jomaih, Saudi Oger, Saudi Binladin, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Stevens Institute of Technology, BAE Systems, the Boeing Company, United Technologies Corporation and Thales.

Saleh Al-Kamel has contributed SR82.6 million for the College of Technology, and the cost of SR85.1 million for the College of Science was met by late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal has funded the library project estimated at SR73.9 million. The mosque will be named after Princess Jawhara bint Khaled, mother of Prince Muhammad Abdullah Al-Faisal.

Dr. Anqari said the government is keen on providing better educational facilities with private sector participation. “The increasing Saudi population has necessitated more seats of learning to pursue higher education,” he added.

Prince Bandar said the university would be affiliated to recognized foreign institutes and would run as a nonprofit concern geared to help young Saudis. “We hope to provide them with state-of-the-art education found in other developed countries.”

Zakariah Muda said his company had decades of experience in building major projects in Malaysia. They included universities, mosques, highways and hydro-power projects, he noted, adding that the new project will bring Malaysian expertise to the region. Some 1,500 workers from all parts of the world will be deployed to complete this project.

Hijas ibn Kasturi, architect of the project told Arab News that the architecture, design and facade of the campus will blend with the old and modern parts of the local environment. “We will preserve the existing architecture of the palace while constructing the new complex,” he said. “The whole idea is to enable the undergraduates to pursue their higher education in a congenial atmosphere.”