Infrastructure - Business Overview
Participants in the site visit in February 2009 study the model of the huge KAUST campus.
On the Red Sea in the western part of Saudi Arabia, about 80 kilometers north of the country's second largest city, Jeddah, there is an international academic city with a vast area of 36 million square meters centering on the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
KAUST is a graduate-level university that opened in September 2009, realizing a vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The school attracts outstanding students, researchers and professors in science and engineering from around the world to conduct the world's top level education and research activities. The results are put into practical use through industry-academia cooperation, and ultimately contribute to the development of the world. KAUST boasts not only the state-of-the-art education and research facilities, but also sites for facilities of invited corporations.
Sumitomo Corporation undertook implementation of communication and security systems for the academic city on a full turn-key basis, from design to procurement and construction.
We constructed the communication building, which controls all communication facilities on campus.
Sumitomo Corporation was contracted with Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Saudi Aramco, to develop systems for the KAUST project. As the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco had developed many large-scale oil and gas plants in Saudi Arabia. In recognition of the fact that they had accomplished construction for these projects on schedule and acquired abundant expertise, the company was entrusted with the construction of the King's long-cherished dream, the world's leading science and technology university, as their first non oil/gas project.
Sumitomo Corporation began providing communication and security system to Saudi Aramco around 2000. We had acquired advanced technology and know-how in this area through work on security, particularly for oil and gas plants with strict requirements, including antiterrorism measures. In September 2005, we were contracted with Saudi Aramco to provide communication equipment for the Khursaniyah oil field on a full turn-key basis. As they highly valued our ability to accomplish tasks and our positive attitude toward the Saudi Arabian market, they requested us to participate in a bid for the KAUST project in July 2009, and we won the bid and signed a contract in December of that year.
Sumitomo Corporation was commissioned to carry out the processes from design through construction of communication systems in the academic city (including data communication network, IP phone network, wireless LAN, videoconferencing system, IP TV system, and external cables), security facilities (including intruder monitoring and entry/exit management), communication building, security headquarters building, and the 15-kilometer security fence surrounding the city. The project was one of the largest communication projects we have been involved in, in terms of both the scale and dollar value.
