Cities from the Arabian desert : the building of Jubail and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia / Andrea H. Pampanini.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [189]-198) and index.

Ch. 1. Beginnings -- Ch. 2. Breaking the Iron Ring -- Ch. 3. In the Souk -- Ch. 4. The Royal Commission: Matrix Manager -- Ch. 5. "Make It Happen" -- Ch. 6. The Aramco Connection -- Ch. 7. SABIC: Engine of Development -- Ch. 8. Best-Laid Plans -- Ch. 9. A Tale of Two Cities -- Ch. 10. No White Elephants -- Ch. 11. Of Swords and Plowshares -- Ch. 12. The Future -- App. A. Location and Land-Use Maps -- App. B. Facts and Figures -- App. C. Industrial Investments -- App. D. Major Milestones.

Over the last two decades, at a cost of about $60 billion, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has constructed the largest public works projects in history - the new industrial cities of Jubail, on the Gulf, and Yanbu, on the Red Sea, the home of a huge and sophisticated petrochemical industry that claims almost ten percent of the world market.

This important work examines the evolution of the Saudis' capacity to plan such large projects; their creation of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, an independent super-agency with the power to cut through red tape and make multi-billion dollar moves on its own; their partnership with Bechtel Corporation and the Ralph M. Parsons Company in the design and construction of the modern Saudi cities; the roles of entities such as Aramco and the SABIC; and the effects of the Gulf War.