The need for developing policies and guidelines for future growth of secondary cities in Saudi Arabia: The case of Hofuf

Since the discovery of oil about a half century ago, industrial development in Saudi Arabia has been concentrated in the three major urban centers of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. With the exception of the two cities of Jubail and Yanbu where basic petrochemical industries are being developed, other smaller cities play a negligible role in national industrialization. Smaller cities thus have experienced a slower rate of economic growth. Locational and structural characteristics of these smaller cities have contributed to this slow pace. This dissertation studies this problem in depth by means of a comparative analysis of two cities. Dammam was chosen as the major urban center, in contrast with the smaller city of Hofuf. Both cities are located in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was developed to obtain data needed in the study, including a 100 percent sample of Hofuf factories and 30 percent sample of those in Dammam. The collected data were analyzed using central tendency and factor analysis techniques to test whether the locational and internal structure of smaller cities has contributed to their slow economic growth. The results show that Dammam has many advantages over Hofuf that attract private industrial investment. These include geographical location, availability of various public and private institutions, availability of infrastructure and services, and the structure of the local market. As expected, smaller cities do not compete with major urban centers, but economic prosperity of the centers is important for the survival of smaller cities. To attract industrial investment in smaller cities, specific measures need to be taken including: giving a wider role to market analysis and feasibility studies, integrating the local laborforce into manufacturing industries, and providing further infrastructure and related services in these cities. There should be an integrated long-term policy that defines the role of urban communities, given their natural resources and their contribution to the national income