Saudi Arabia to Allow Foreign Ownership in Brussels-Sized City - BusinessWeek

King Abdullah Economic City, one of four metropolitan areas under construction in Saudi Arabia, will be the first place where foreigners are allowed to own property as the kingdom seeks new sources of investment.

The city, known as KAEC and named after the head of state, is being built by Emaar Economic City, a company controlled by the Saudi Arabian government and Dubai’s biggest property developer. When completed in 2025, the $27 billion project will cover about the same area as Brussels.

“This is the first freehold city in Saudi Arabia,” Fahd Al-Rasheed, Emaar Economic City’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. “A lot of people want to invest in the Saudi market and see it as a frontier for real estate investment because of the population explosion here.”