Emaar, The Economic City

Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar E.C.), established in September 2006, is a Saudi joint stock company managed by Emaar Properties PJSC, one of the world’s largest property developers, and a number of high profile investors from Saudi Arabia. Emaar E.C. leads the master planning and development of the 168 million m² King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, the body responsible for investments in the Kingdom, is the prime facilitator for KAEC.

KAEC Business Park

The King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is an enormous project unveiled in 2005 by Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the King of Saudi Arabia. With a total surface of 168 km², the city is located about 100 km north of Jeddah, the commercial hub of the kingdom. The city is divided into six main components: Industrial Valley, Sea Port, residential areas, Sea Resort, Educational Zone, and a Central Business District which includes the Financial Island. The KAEC Business Park covers an area of over 258,000 m² and features modern amenities including high-speed Internet, telecom connectivity and high quality finishes. Facilities include a day care centre, retail outlets and restaurants.

Pre-existing situation & UTCFS’s role

The scale and importance of the KAEC Business Park development necessitated a range of security features including fire detection, access control and video surveillance. Emaar E.C. was looking for a partner who could provide them with a smart, state of the art, security system over IP connection. A further major requirement of the desired security solution was that it had to be able to integrate the different systems. It had also been decided that the first installation of the security solution would focus on the two main buildings of the Business Park, with multiple expansions to follow

UTCFS’s solution

After careful evaluation, Emaar E.C. chose UTCFS as their security provider for fire detection, access control and video surveillance. The installation of the security systems began at the two main buildings in mid 2008. An access control system, consisting of 27 card readers and based on UTCFS's ATS solution, has been installed. Secondly, a video surveillance system consisting of over 50 cameras (both fixed and high speed dome variety) is now operational. These cameras are connected to digital recorders, enabling the images from all cameras to be automatically stored. UTCFS's EST fire detection product range offered the ideal solution for KAEC's needs. The two main buildings were provided with smoke detectors connected to fire control panels, ensuring the creation of a safe environment. For integration, UTCFS's Alliance software interface is used, which allows different security systems to interact. With this solution, the KAEC Business Park is able to offer a safe environment to its visitors, tenants and investors.