Dammam metropolitan area

Greater Dammam
Hadirut al-Dammam
Greater Dammam Hadirut al-Dammam
	Coordinates: 26°25′15″N50°05′20″E / 26.4207°N 50.0888°E
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Eastern Province
Government
• Governor	Saud bin Nayef Al Saud
Population
• Total	2,742,800(2,022 census)
Time zone	UTC+3 (Arabia Standard Time)
Website	www.eamana.gov.sa

Last updated April 13, 2024

The Dammam metropolitan area, or Greater Dammam, is the largest metropolitan area in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It consists of "The Triplet Cities" of Dammam, Khobar, Dhahran, Qatif and their vicinities. It had a population of 2,742,800 as of the 2022 census.^[1] It is known for the arts, pearl culturing, entertainment and popular music and sports legacies. The area includes a variety of natural landscapes, parks, and beaches with a recreational coastline to the Persian Gulf. The Greater Dammam area is also known for being one of the cornerstones of the oil industry with the world's largest oil company and most valuable company, Saudi Aramco, being based in Dhahran, as a result of the first oil well being dug in the area.

History

Several tombs, remnants, artifacts and historical references suggest that the area was inhabited more than two thousand years ago. However, most vestiges of human habitation were buried by the encroaching desert sands and the area had been largely deserted for centuries.^[2]

Modern history

The area was first inhabited by a clan of Al Dossary tribe and a number of the Al Howela families in early 1923. The families led by Sheikh Ahmed ibn Abdullah Al Dossary migrated from Bahrain and were offered to choose land to settle in the area by King Abdul Aziz Ibn Sa'ud Al Sa'ud. Dammam was immediately chosen for its vicinity to the island of Bahrain as the clan hoped to head back there soon, but the British rule in the region made it very hard for them to move so they finally settled in Dammam. Years later, Sheikh Ahmed's brother and his family moved south to Al Khobar, which by that time was already inhabited. The arrival of the Sheikh Ahmed's brother resulted in a population boost for Khobar and closer ties with the bigger city of Dammam. When the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, the area was the site of several small settlements that depended on fishing and pearls for their survival.^[2]

The area's transformation was launched with the discovery of oil in commercial quantities. The Dammam No. 7 well proved beyond doubt that the Kingdom possessed a large supply of hydrocarbons. Over the span of a little more than half a century, the area has developed into a thriving hub of industry, commerce and science, and home to around two million people. New oil fields discovered during the 1940s and 1950s, now account for a quarter of the world's proven oil reserves. Experts and technicians from the Kingdom and from around the world gathered to help search for new oil fields and bring them on-stream.^[2]

The growing number of expatriates working in Dhahran required the building of housing, hospitals, schools for their children and other amenities. Before long, Dhahran, the corporate headquarters of Saudi Aramco, was growing in all directions. The growth of the oil industry in the region had a similar impact on the small fishing villages of Dammam and Khobar. Within two decades of the discovery of oil, the huts of the fishermen that crowded the shore, which constituted the only permanent dwellings in the area, had given way to concrete buildings and modern housing, highways and streets.^[2]

Located on the Persian Gulf coast east of Dhahran, Khobar briefly became the shipping point for Saudi Arabian crude oil to the refinery in Bahrain. In the years leading up to and during World War II, Saudi Arabian oil production was very limited, and since the company had no refinery of its own, most of the oil was sent by small tankers to Bahrain. With the construction of a pipeline to Bahrain and the subsequent expansion of the oil industry in the post-war years, the focus of the shipping and oil industries shifted from Khobar to Dammam and Ra's Tanura, one of the largest oil storage and shipping centers in the world, located 25 km north of Dammam. As a result, Khobar gradually found a new role as the commercial center for the entire region.^[2] In the early 1980s, Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Province, was a separate city but so close to Khobar and Dhahran that one could pass from one to the other in a few minutes. The discovery of oil in Dhahran and nearby fields and the growing importance of the entire region affected Dammam more than any other city in Saudi Arabia. Within three decades, the fishing village, now a city, had become the capital of the largest province of Saudi Arabia. The simultaneous growth of the "Triplet Cities" brought the three jurisdictions into physical contact, the three towns inevitably merged into one, creating a single municipality known as the Dammam metropolitan area, referred to simply as Dammam or Greater Dammam. Each of the three towns still retains its own character and some local administrative functions but, in terms of their place in the Kingdom, Dammam forms a single administrative entity.^[2]

The growth of the Saudi Arabian oil industry brought about rapid development in the region. As oil production increased, so did the number of people required to run the industry. The growing population needed more housing and services. First-rate hospitals and schools were built, service industries sprouted up to support the oil industry and meet the needs of people living in the area. As a result, a region which had several hundred inhabitants some sixty years ago now boasts a population of well over 1.5 million, growing at a pace of over five percent a year. The area did not just develop a booming oil industry, it developed in all spheres. It is now a modern urban and industrial center. As oil production was growing in the early years, the Saudi Arabian government took steps to facilitate the evolution of Greater Dammam. New roads and highways connected the area to other urban and industrial centers in the Kingdom. A railway line was built to connect the area to the capital, Riyadh. The Dhahran International Airport was established between Dhahran and Khobar to connect the region to other parts of the Kingdom and beyond.^[2]

To encourage the growth of non-oil industries, an industrial city, the 1st Industrial City of Dammam, was established in the open space between the three cities. This industrial complex was swiftly engulfed by the urban mass. As a result, the 2nd Industrial City of Dammam was established further away from the metropolitan area along the highway to Abqaiq and Hofuf. Together, these two industrial cities house more than 300 factories which manufacture a variety of consumer and industrial products that are marketed throughout the Kingdom and exported to other countries around the world. Handling such exports as well as imports from abroad, is the domain of shipping agents and commercial companies located in Dammam and Khobar, making the area not only a major oil producing and exporting area, but also a commercial and shipping center. The swift growth of the region necessitated the construction of a larger and more modern airport to replace the Dhahran International Airport. The new King Fahd International Airport serves not just the Dammam metropolitan area, but the entire Eastern Province.^[2]

Having been built from the ground up, the area was designed from the outset on the principles of modern urban planning. Residential areas are separate from commercial sections, roads are broad and straight and buildings conform to a master plan. One of the main features of the development of the area is land reclamation. Vast stretches of the shallow Persian Gulf have been filled, with hotels and office buildings occupying what were once marshes. Water for household, urban and industrial use is provided by desalination plants that supply approximately seven million cubic feet of treated water to the area each day. The availability of water underpins the urban and industrial growth of the area and provisions have been made for expanding existing desalination facilities to meet future growth.^[2]

In many ways, the Dammam metropolitan area has evolved as the link between Saudi Arabia and the outside world, exporting the Kingdom's products and importing its needs and thriving on the interaction between Saudi Arabia and other countries.^[2]

Transportation

By air

Greater Dammam is served by the King Fahd International Airport, the largest airport in the world by land area (~780 km²), about 20 km northwest of Dammam. The airport serves an estimated 9.8 million people annually (2017).

By sea

Dammam's King Abdul Aziz Sea Port is the largest on the Persian Gulf, with import-export traffic in the country second only to the Jeddah Islamic Port on the Red Sea near the c City of Jeddah. It is one of the most important ports in the country and is under the supervision of the Saudi Ports Authority.

By rail

The area is connected to the cities of Abqaiq, Hofuf and the capital, Riyadh by two railway lines maintained by the Saudi Railways Organization.

Major highways

Greater Dammam is served by the following highways:

Route 40 to Riyadh, Makkah, Ta'if and Jeddah.

Route 95 to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, to the south & Jubail and Khafji to the north.

Route 605 connecting Khobar, Dammam and the King Fahd International Airport.

Route 613 to Qatif, Ra's Tanura, Jubail and Ra's Al Khair

Route 610

Route 615

Route 617

Mashreq network

The Mashreq network uses Highway 40 and Highway 95 to complete Mashreq M80 to Bahrain, while Highway 95, which continues northward toward Kuwait, is also part of Mashreq M5.

Named bridges and tunnels

The King Fahd Causeway (Mashreq M80) connects Khobar to Bahrain. The causeway is popularly known as the Bahrain Bridge.

Related Research Articles

The Eastern Province, also known as the Eastern Region, is the easternmost of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third most populous after the Riyadh and Mecca provinces. In 2017, the population was 4,900,325. Of these, 3,140,362 were Saudi citizens and 1,759,963 were foreign nationals The province accounts for 15.05% of the entire population of Saudi Arabia and is named for its geographical location relative to the rest of the kingdom.

Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and the kingdom's fourth-most populous city, with a total population of 1,532,300 as of 2022. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province, in addition to the administrative offices of other minor governmental departments functioning within the province, are located in the city. The word itself is generally used to refer to the city, but may also refer to its eponymous governorate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran</span> Gated community in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran is a residential community built by Saudi Aramco for its employees to live in. It is located within the city of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. There are three areas recognized by the inhabitants in the Dhahran camp. The first built is known as the Main Camp. It is the oldest part and the busiest as it contains the commissary, various shops and parks, and infrastructure. The second area, known as the Hills, is the quietest since it is mostly residential and more family friendly. In 2017, a new residential area was opened and is known as Jebel Heights, it is an extension of the camp on the western edge of the facility. The area of Jebel Heights contains modern villas that vary from three bedroom houses to five bedroom houses as well as apartment blocks.

Jubail is a city in the Eastern province on the Arabian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 474,679 as of 2022. It is home to the largest industrial city in the world. It is also home to the Middle East's largest and world's fourth largest petrochemical company SABIC. It has the world's largest IWPP producing 2743.6 MW of electricity and 800,000 m³ of water daily. Jubail comprises the Old Town of Al Jubail, which was a small fishing village until 1975, and the Industrial Area. Jubail Industrial City is the largest civil engineering project in the world today.

Khobar is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 409,549 as of 2022 in the city core and 658,550 in the governorate, Khobar is part of the 'Triplet Cities' area, or Dammam metropolitan area along with Dammam and Dhahran, forming the residential core of the region.

King Abdulaziz Air Base, also known as Dhahran Air Base and formerly Dhahran International Airport, Dhahran Airport and Dhahran Airfield, is a Royal Saudi Air Force base located in Dhahran in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Located west of Thuqbah and 7 km (4 mi) southeast of the Saudi Aramco Dhahran Camp, the airbase was the first Saudi Arabian airport to be constructed, in 1961, and is under the command of Air vice-marshal Prince Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Qatif or Al-Qatif is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahd International Airport in the west. This region has its own municipality and includes the Qatif downtown, Safwa, Saihat, Tarout Island, and many other smaller cities and towns.

Ras Tanura is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf. The name Ras Tanura applies both to a gated Saudi Aramco employee compound and to an industrial area further out on the peninsula that serves as a major oil port and oil operations center for Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. Today, the compound has about 3,200 residents, with a few Americans and British expats.

King Fahd International Airport, also known as Dammam International Airport or simply Dammam Airport or King Fahd Airport, is the international airport serving Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The airport is located 31 kilometres northwest of downtown Dammam and is named after the former King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd ibn Abdulaziz (1921–2005). The airport serves the entire Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and is one of the four primary international airports in the kingdom.

Abqaiq is a Saudi Aramco gated community and oil-processing facility located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, located in the desert 60 km southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area, and north of the Rub' al-Khali, the second largest sand desert in the world also known as the "Empty Quarter". The community was built in the 1940s by Aramco. The Abqaiq community had a population of approximately 1,500 in 2012, though the inclusion of the population outside the Saudi Aramco community brings this number closer to 45,000.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhahran</span> City in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

Dhahran is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 143,936 as of 2022, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cities of Dammam and Khobar, Dhahran forms part of the Dammam Metropolitan Area, which is commonly known as greater Dammam and has an estimated population of 2.2 million as of 2022.

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Highway 613, popularly known as the Dhahran–Jubail Expressway and the Khobar–Dammam–Dhahran Expressway, is a major north-south controlled-access secondary highway in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, spanning 196 kilometers. It connects the Dammam metropolitan area to the industrial area of Ra's al-Khair, running in the north-south direction for its entire length from Khobar in the south to the Ra's al-Khair north of Jubail, while providing access to Saihat, Qatif and Jubail along its length.

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King Abdul Aziz Port, also known as Dammam Port, is a port in the city of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. It is the largest port in the Persian Gulf, and the third largest and third busiest port in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, after the Jeddah Islamic Port. King Abdul Aziz Port is a major export center for the oil industry, and also a key distribution center for major landlocked cities in the country, particularly the capital cities of provinces, such as Riyadh which is linked to Dammam by a railway line.

References

↑ بوابة الهيئة - الصفحة الرئيسية. portal.saudicensus.sa (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-11-30.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History". www.the-saudi.net. Retrieved 2020-01-16.

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[1] بوابة الهيئة - الصفحة الرئيسية. portal.saudicensus.sa (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-11-30.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History". www.the-saudi.net. Retrieved 2020-01-16.

[1]

[2]

Dammam metropolitan area

Contents

History

Transportation

See also

Related Research Articles

References