Jazan territorial strategy: planning for sustainable development

The Jazan region, located along the southern coast of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Yemen, extends over 300 km and is home to a population of over 1.4 million. Renowned for its natural diversity, including islands, mangroves and mountains, Jazan is mainly based on agriculture and has considerable tourism potential. Jazan’s territorial strategy aims to exploit these assets for balanced, sustainable development.

The Jazan planning project

setec organisation is acting as project manager and technical coordinator for the Jazan territorial strategy, alongside Institut Paris Region (IPR), Beyond, Alpin, CLS, and other specialist setec subsidiaries (setec KSA, setec international, setec hydratec, setec énergie environnement, setec is). The aim is to prepare a regional plan and local plans for the main governorates of the Jazan region.

Data collection and preliminary analysis

In the first phase of the project, a team of planners carried out multiple site visits, stakeholder meetings and field data collection. This comprehensive approach aimed to ensure a thorough understanding of the region’s challenges and opportunities, an essential foundation for effective Jazan planning.

Co-development workshops

Co-development workshops were organized to draw up desirable economic and territorial development scenarios for Jazan. Thanks to these exchanges, and with the invaluable help of the Jazan Strategy Office (JSO) team, desirable development directions were identified. The main themes addressed included governance, urban planning, the environment, the economy and society.

Drawing up regional and local plans

The next step is to draw up regional and local plans for six governorates (Jizan, Sabya, Abu-Arish, Farasan, Samtah, Ahad-al-Masariha). The implementation of these plans will include governance strategies and concrete actions to ensure the harmonious and sustainable development of the region.