SAUDI Arabia’s King Abdullah last month laid the foundation stone for the second phase of university campus projects worth SR81.5 billion ($21.73 billion), even as he inaugurated the first phase of the project in different regions, a report said.

The new campuses are located in Jazan, Taif, Tabuk, Hail, Baha, Najran, Al Jouf, Majmaa and Shaqra universities, Prince Salman University in Al Kharj, and the Northern Province University, the Arab News reported, quoting Higher Education Minister Khaled Al Anqari.

Other higher education projects launched by the King include King Abdulaziz University’s (KAU) campuses in North Jeddah and Rabigh, King Abdullah City for Girls at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, the new campus for girls at King Saud University and the girls’ colleges complex at Umm Al Qura University.

The second phase covers 16 university campuses, including 166 new colleges, 161 support service projects, 10,841 housing units and 12 university hospitals with 3,800 beds.

The new university projects will bring about an educational renaissance in the kingdom and boost its progress, the minister said.

The number of government universities in Saudi Arabia has risen from 15 in 2004 to 32 at present. Over the same period, the number of colleges have risen from 314 to 452, while the number of teachers is now close to 50,000, the report added.