Jazan ( ar, جازان, Jāzān), also spelled ''Jizan'' ( ar, جيزان, Jīzān), ''Gizan'' or ''Gazan'', is a port city and the capital of

Jizan Region Jizan Region also spelled Jazan ( ar, جيزان, Jizan) is the second smallest (after Al Bahah) region of Saudi Arabia. It stretches along the southern Red Sea coast, just north of Yemen. It covers an area of 11,671 km2 and has a populat ...

, which lies in the southwest corner of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and directly north of the border with Yemen. Jazan City is situated on the coast of the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and serves a large agricultural heartland that has a population of 319,119 as of 2021 and over 1.5 million, within metropolitan area. As the city is the capital of the region, it has the regional airport as well as Jazan seaport. The area is noted for its high-quality production of tropical fruits like

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

, and

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

. Jazan has one of the largest mega projects market in the kingdom with significant infrastructure projects worth many billions of dollars. Saudi Aramco is building a 400,000 bpd refinery with associated terminal facilities on the

near Jazan, scheduled for completion in late 2018.

Economy

In the early 20th century, Jazan was a major site for

pearl fishing Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On the ...

. When World War I began, trade declined at Jazan, moving to

Al Hudaydah Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea. As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...

. Today, ambitious projects in transport, renewable energy, tourism and agricultural development are taking place in Jizan region, particularly in

Jazan Economic City Jazan Economic City ( ar, مدينة جيزان الاقتصادية) is an economic city in the Jizan Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a focus on the energy and manufacturing industries. ''Arab News'' reported in January 2011 that ...

, including a US$3 Billion

aluminium smelter Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide, alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery. This is an electrolyti ...

. Jazan is being turned into Saudi Arabia's naval industry hub. Furthermore, the southern and western outskirts of the city are a place which the Kingdom wants to turn into its agricultural hub due to the water underground as well as the rich and diverse soil.

Jazan Refinery

Jazan Refinery is a megaproject under construction and owned by Saudi Aramco. The Refinery will process heavy and medium crude oil to create

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking e ...

, sulfur, asphalt, benzene, and paraxylene. It is expected to produce 400,000 barrels per day.

Transport

Jazan Port and Jazan Regional Airport serve the city of Jazan.

Climate

Jazan has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: BWh) with an average annual temperature above . The weather is very hot all year round and its average annual temperature is one of the hottest in the world, as daily lows average over and highs over even in the coldest month of the year, while unlike a lot of tropical cities the summer is even noticeably warmer. It is very humid but parched in some months, making the weather very volatile. Sandstorms are quite common in areas further from the sea. The highest recorded temperature was on 15 September 2006, while the lowest was on 7 February 1993.

References

Oil Review-Monday, 11 December 2017

External links