Taif University president thanks king for launch of new project

TAIF: Taif University President Hussam bin Abdul Wahhab Zaman, extended his gratitude to King Salman following the inauguration of the “New Taif” projects, among which was the new university project in Sysid.

“The inauguration of the New Taif project is a result of the efforts of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to King Salman and governor of Makkah, to transform Taif into a modern city with large-scale development projects in the near future,” Zaman said.

Zaman explained that the university has started constructing its new building in Sysid, emerging from the development vision, “building humans and developing places,” in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.

The New Taif development project, supervised by the Integration Development Center in Makkah province, occupies 1,250 square kilometers and will be able to accommodate 750,000 people. The project includes a modern university, developing Souq Okaz City, implementing the infrastructure of the new international airport, designing a technology oasis, and developing the Taif industrial city and the Ministry of Housing’s project, which occupies 12 square kilometers.

According to Zaman, the university has a strategic location — surrounded by the city of Taif and the rest of the New Taif projects, and close to the city of Makkah. It is currently carrying out 16 projects divided into 3 phases. The project’s total value surpasses SR2.908 billion ($775.43 million) and includes educational facilities for the university’s colleges, departments, labs and hospital, and is set to serve around 90,000 students. It also includes housing for the faculty and students, as well as buildings for sports and cultural activities.

“Taif University is keen on creating effective partnerships with all government agencies in order to achieve mutual objectives and ensure the success of the New Taif project, as well as other development projects,” Zaman said.

“Taif University plans on investing part of its new university in Sysid, as well as its current location in Hoya, to carry out investment projects which will generate excellent financial return and support its resources.”