JUO Achievements - Jeddah Urban Observatory

       Despite the relatively short period from its inauguration, which took place on July 2006, the JUO was able to achieve the following results:

     -    Formed a Higher Council headed by His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, Governor of Makkah Province. The rest of the council members are represented heads of local government agencies and other private sectors involved in Jeddah�s urban development
     -    Established a coordination committee headed by H.E. the Mayor of Jeddah to monitor progress and provide on-going support
     -    Established an office building and provided the required administrative, scientific, and technical support from three national consulting firms to establish the observatory
     -    Prepared a work methodology and established a detailed time-plan to perform the main duties. The plan covers the period up to 31/12/2008
     -    Established an internet website for the Jeddah Urban Observatory
     -    Established plans to conduct a workshop for the local community and for involved stakeholders in the urban development of Jeddah to acquaint them with the JUO�s operations. Through this workshop, local urban indicators specific to Jeddah will be generated.
     -    Presently, the development of a geographical and numerical database to produce the indicators being generated. Ongoing training and meetings with the Amana employees, representatives from various governmental departments, civic societies and local business people are taking place. The purpose behind these activities is to coordinate efforts, develop indicators, and form an observatory information database to tie in with other databases.

        With the JUO up and running this will represent a landmark for advanced status in urbanization for economic, social, and infrastructure design for Jeddah.