The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the Kingdom or Saudi Arabia) does not have classical ‘freezones’ and such term is not used in the Kingdom; instead, authorities use the term ‘economic cities’. The laws and regulations in economic cities are different than those of ‘freezones’. Therefore economic cities in Saudi Arabia cannot be called ‘freezones’ per se.

Knowledge Economic City (KEC), situated in Al-Madinah, is one the economic cities in the Kingdom, established as a regional hub for Knowledge and information-based industries; however, KEC cannot be classified as a ‘freezone’. In Saudi Arabia, economic cities were developed and regulated by the Economic Cities Authority, established pursuant to Saudi Arabia Royal Decree No. A19/1431 dated 10/03/1431H corresponding to 24/2/2010G under the authority of the Ministry of Investment (MISA; previously known as Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA)). The Economic Cities Authority was established with the mandate to fully oversee the Kingdom’s economic cities and enable them to achieve their objectives in localising national capital and attracting foreign investment.