First Green Residential Complex to be Developed in Eastern Saudi Arabia

The SPARK residential complex, which will be developed in phases as of 2022, expands over an area that exceeds 110,000 square meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The SPARK residential complex, which will be developed in phases as of 2022, expands over an area that exceeds 110,000 square meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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First Green Residential Complex to be Developed in Eastern Saudi Arabia

The SPARK residential complex, which will be developed in phases as of 2022, expands over an area that exceeds 110,000 square meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The SPARK residential complex, which will be developed in phases as of 2022, expands over an area that exceeds 110,000 square meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), the global integrated system in the field of localization of energy industries and services in Saudi Arabia, revealed an agreement to develop the Spark residential complex, to be the first sustainable green residential compound in the Kingdom.

The project, which will be developed in phases as of 2022, expands over an area that exceeds 110,000 square meters. It will be taken over by the Saudi Al-Maskan Al-Misar Company, which is affiliated with the Abdullah Bin Saedan & Sons Real Estate Group, with an investment of 375 million riyals (USD 100 million).

The design of the residential complex, which is located in eastern Saudi Arabia, is in line with the green initiatives adopted in Vision 2030, and will integrate green technologies with the latest sustainability standards, while providing the best amenities and competitiveness for the tenants.

CEO of SPARK, Saif Al-Qahtani, said that the success in forming a sustainable ecosystem that attracts international investors would support the Saudi society not only because of its strategic location, but also as it is built on the foundations and concepts of good living, work and leisure.

“It will enable our tenants to safely lodge their employees while offering first class amenities. This is paramount for their sustainable growth and localization value creation,” he added.

SPARK has almost completed the implementation of the first phase of the project, which consists of infrastructure, roads, facilities and real estate assets that were built over an area of 17 square kilometers.

The King Salman Energy Park adopts an integrated industrial ecosystem, and extends over an area of 50 square kilometers that is being developed to become the gateway to the regional energy sector in the future. It is also the first industrial city in the world to receive a LEED Silver certificate.

SPARK provides solutions for infrastructure, roads, utilities and real estate in accordance with international standards, to global investors in the oil and gas, machinery and equipment, electricity, environmental, non-metal and technical industries.



Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Monday, hitting its lowest in 11 days, in a move analysts attributed to a wave of caution after the surging popularity of a Chinese artificial intelligence model sparked a selloff in Western AI-related stocks.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency struggled to make gains last week, as a rally that had seen it break above $100,000 after US President Donald Trump's election ran out of steam, Reuters reported.

At 1156 GMT, bitcoin was at $98,852.17, down around 6% on the day, having fallen sharply in early trading to hit its lowest since Jan. 16.

Technology stocks plunged, as traders worried that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek could threaten Western companies' dominance of the sector, in a move some called AI's "Sputnik moment", referring to the former Soviet Union's launch of a satellite that marked the start of the space race in the late 1950s.

Bitcoin's losses are "seemingly driven by some risk-off sentiment circulating the markets currently due to DeepSeek," wrote eToro analyst Simon Peters.

Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, said a decline in Nasdaq futures had hurt crypto markets, but that disappointment over the Trump administration's announcement about a cryptocurrency stockpile had put digital assets more at risk of a sharp selloff.

Crypto failed to feature in Trump's day-one announcements after taking office last week, leaving some investors disappointed. In an executive order on Thursday, Trump created a working group to draft new crypto rules and explore a crypto stockpile, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spiked accounting guidance that the industry said had stymied crypto adoption.

The prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer also hurt riskier assets, said Thomas Puech, CEO of digital asset hedge fund Indigo.

US Federal Reserve policymakers meet this week and are expected to keep interest rates on hold.