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New Saudi Development Projects' Funds Exceed $40 Bln

Two photos of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Crown Prince at the entrance to the city of Waad AlShamal project, Asharq Al-Awsat
Two photos of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Crown Prince at the entrance to the city of Waad AlShamal project, Asharq Al-Awsat
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New Saudi Development Projects' Funds Exceed $40 Bln

Two photos of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Crown Prince at the entrance to the city of Waad AlShamal project, Asharq Al-Awsat
Two photos of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Crown Prince at the entrance to the city of Waad AlShamal project, Asharq Al-Awsat

Mega development projects nationwide have been inaugurated by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, in the presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during a royal tour of the Kingdom.

The new development projects will see astronomical investments totaling SAR150 billion ($40 billion), of which SAR 85 billion ($22.6 billion) is allocated to Waad AlShamal Development City, the largest industrial project in the region and the future’s largest phosphate producer worldwide.

Most new projects are being implemented by national ministries and agencies.

There have also been 11 projects for the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, 69 projects for the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, 21 projects for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, 16 projects for the Ministry of Transport, 18 port projects, as well as housing and education projects.

Waad AlShamal is propped up as an integrated mineral city, located northeast of the city of Tarif which lies near the Kingdom’s northern border region.

At least 600 Qasim region projects will boost the Kingdom’s central district’s performance across 12 sectors. It is worth noting that the spot is known for abundant natural resources in addition to a strategic heartland geographic location.

The most notable projects have been launched for the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources. These projects are worth 4.94 billion Saudi riyals ($1.3 billion).

Apart from its economic value, the Qasim region is also home to historic cultural heritage.

King Salman also launched 259 projects in the northern region of Ha’il at a cost of 7 billion Saudi riyals ($1.9 billion).

As for projects launched in the Tabuk region, they will cover an area of more than 3,800 sq km and will target more than 2,500 hotel keys and 700 residential villas, apartments and estate homes, plus over 200 high-end retail establishments with an eclectic mix of galleries, ateliers, artisan workshops and bespoke retail shops supported by a wide range of international and local signature dining venues.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage is set to own 11 of the projects worth SAR 98 million and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs owns 69 projects worth SAR 757 million.

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture will cover 21 projects worth SAR1.5 billion; the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources owns two projects for the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities worth SAR46 million and three projects for the electricity department worth SAR5 billion; the Ministry of Housing owns two projects worth SAR408 million; the Ministry of Education owns 11 projects, six of which are educational projects and five for the University of Tabuk, worth SAR1.6 billion; the Ministry of Transport owns 16 projects worth SAR1.6 billion; and the General Authority of Ports owns 18 projects at a total value of SAR 876 million.

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Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he will nominate prominent investor Scott Bessent as US Treasury secretary, a key cabinet position with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs.

"I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. "Scott is widely respected as one of the world's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists."

Wall Street has been closely watching who Trump will pick, especially given his plans to remake global trade through tariffs and extend and potentially expand the raft of tax cuts enacted during his first term, Reuters reported
The choice came after days of deliberations by Trump as he sorted through a shifting list of candidates. Bessent spent day after day at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida providing economic advice, sources said, a proximity to the president-elect that may have helped him prevail.
Other names that had been floated included Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Investor John Paulson had also been a leading candidate, but dropped out, while Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick, another contender, was appointed as head of the Commerce Department.
Bessent, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production, as noted in a recent opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
The market's surge after Trump's election victory, he wrote, signaled investor expectations of "higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans."
"Bessent has been on the side of less aggressive tariffs," said Oxford Economics' Ryan Sweet, adding that picking him makes the steep tariffs Trump proposed on the campaign trail less likely.
Bessent follows other financial luminaries who have taken the job, including former Goldman Sachs executives Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first Treasury chief. Janet Yellen, the current secretary and first woman in the job, previously chaired the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Bessent's home state, said in a statement: "President Trump's economic agenda is in good hands with Scott Bessent. I look forward to working closely with Scott and President Trump to lower inflation and create the golden age of prosperity for the American people."