Saudia has selected CH2M HILL to lead a project to develop the Sinnovate Smart Technology Hub (Sinnovate) in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) about 100 kilometers north of Jeddah.
CH2M HILL will serve as program manager leading a team including Microsoft and Dimension Data, which will provide IT solutions and enterprise architecture for the hub including hardware, software, and networking.
CH2M HILL will provide data center and site building facility solutions including “smart security” and “smart building management” technologies. The project’s “end to end” delivery structure will include software, hardware, networks and storage in addition to design of the hub’s multiple buildings.
This greenfield technology hub will sit on approximately 41,000 square meters of land to provide training and certification for Saudi citizens to support the growing demand for high-technology talent. The hub will consist of two data centers and an administration building (approximately 7,300 square meters) excluding the “white space” for both the “Enterprise Data Center” and a “Commercial Data Center,” each featuring a hybrid combination of traditional and modular space capable of supporting approximately 3.0 MW of IT power.
It will also have an Innovation Center (approximately 6,800 square meters) containing training academies to provide on-the-job training for the Kingdom’s youth after graduation from college. This will be the site’s flagship building including classrooms, laboratories, study space, a 200-person auditorium, two additional 100-person auditoriums, meeting and video conferencing rooms, and administration spaces.
Other facilities in the hub include Joint Development Center (approximately 5,500 square meters) featuring Class A office space designed for Saudia and its other partners, as well as potential startup ventures to jointly develop software solutions; and a Convention Center and Cafeteria (3,000 square meters) including a kitchen, a serving area and 200-person dining area.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah launched KAEC in 2005 and is scheduled for completion in 2029. The city covers an area of 186 square kilometers, which is the size of Washington D.C.
The Sinnovate Technology Hub is part of Saudia’s ambitious grand vision of providing training to Saudi new graduates to become future technology leaders to support business, research, and academic needs in Saudi Arabia and the surrounding region, while offering best in class data center and cloud services to businesses locating at KAEC, stated by Mr. Mohammad Albakr, EVP for IT and CFO at Saudia. The Sinnovate project aligns three highly respected technology partners to deliver a best-in-class program unprecedented in the industry.
Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environment, nuclear, energy, facilities and urban environments. With US$6.6 billion in revenue and 26,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record and named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix.
