Job Creation Impact Study for Zan Waterfront in Jazan

Zan Waterfront in Jazan is a mixed-use project combining offices, shopping centers, retail experiences, restaurants and cafes, hospitality (hotel and resort), marina, and entertainment and events facilities. The project's employment impact does not come from a single operator, but from an integrated ecosystem including tenant jobs in offices, retail, and hospitality, in addition to the open public spaces operations team.

Site data used in the study (from project program):

• Project area: 300,000 sqm
• Building footprint: 100,000 sqm
• Open and public spaces: 200,000 sqm (approximately 67% of project land)

These spaces require year-round operations, maintenance, and security, with elevated maintenance levels due to the coastal environment.

Quick Reading

• The largest job driver on-site is offices with approximately 6,005 jobs, followed by retail, restaurants, and cafes with approximately 2,314 jobs.
• Open space operations alone generates 125 jobs to ensure daily experience quality in a large public space.
• Jazan's climate elevates the importance of seasonal jobs, as outdoor event feasibility generally improves during the cooler period from December to March, increasing temporary security, cleaning, and event operations needs.

1. Estimate direct operational jobs within the project site by program components.
2. Estimate indirect and induced jobs supported in the economy as a result of operations and spending.
3. Estimate direct jobs during the construction phase based on development costs.

What Was Measured

• On-site operational jobs: Estimate based on usable areas, occupancy rates, and employment densities by activity type.
• Indirect and induced jobs: Estimate through economic multiplier coefficients covering supply chain impact and income spending.
• Construction phase jobs: Cumulative estimate of total direct employment during the execution period.

Important Boundary Notes

• A significant portion of office and retail jobs are considered enabled jobs within the site (Tenant Jobs), meaning they are not necessarily on the developer's payroll, but they materialize because the project provided the appropriate space and operational infrastructure.
• Multiplier coefficients are affected by local content ratios and supply chain structures, so updating them later when more precise local procurement and operations data becomes available is recommended.

The study relies on the employment density approach to estimate jobs from space, with varying standards (sqm per job) by use type, based on the Employment Densities Guide as the primary source for offices, retail, restaurants, and sports centers.

Core Estimation Formulas

• Offices: Direct jobs = NIA ÷ 12 × Occupancy
• Retail: Direct jobs = NIA ÷ 19 × Occupancy
• Restaurants and cafes: Direct jobs = NIA ÷ 18 × Occupancy
• Supermarket: Direct jobs = NIA ÷ 17 × Occupancy

Hospitality (Hotel and Resort)

GFA was converted to estimated room count using the area-per-room standard per Rider Levett Bucknall, then employment was estimated via staff-per-room ratios per employment density references:

• 4-star hotel: Rooms ≈ GFA/75 then FTE ≈ Rooms × 0.8
• 5-star resort: Rooms ≈ GFA/95 then FTE ≈ Rooms × 1.1

Marina

Saudi Red Sea Authority guidelines were used with 24/7 operations and a benchmark of 0.03 staff per berth:

Marina operations ≈ 6 + 0.03 × (Berths)

Open Spaces Operations 200,000 sqm

A separate operations team was established for public spaces (security, cleaning, landscaping, technical maintenance) using area-per-employee standards from parks and maintenance sector practices (NRPA/ICMA), then adjusted upward due to the waterfront nature.

Indirect and Induced Jobs

Estimated through economic Input-Output Multipliers measuring supply chain impact and income spending, leveraging definitions and measurement practices from statistical agencies, and using a supporting Saudi reference linking tourism spending to employment (1.4 jobs per SAR 1 million) from a SAMA paper.

From 9,023 direct on-site operational jobs:

• 2,408 indirect jobs through the supply chain
• 2,106 induced jobs from worker and visitor income spending

Bringing total supported jobs in the economy to 13,538 jobs.

Due to Jazan's hot and humid climate for most of the year, outdoor event feasibility improves during the cooler period from December to March.

Accordingly, a seasonal operational uplift was estimated linked to winter events and outdoor activities:

• Seasonal uplift: 120 to 150 jobs during season months
• Actual workforce on peak days: 250 to 400 persons/day depending on event size

Direct construction jobs were estimated at approximately 6,877 jobs on total estimated CAPEX of approximately SAR 1,414,780,895.

The figure represents total direct employment opportunities during the execution period, not the number of workers on site on any single day.

Top Components by CAPEX and Therefore Construction Jobs (Top 10)

Zan Waterfront emerges as a multi-engine employment platform, combining tenant jobs in offices and retail, hospitality and entertainment jobs, in addition to an independent operations team for the large open spaces. It also provides flexibility in using the conservative, base, or high scenario depending on the presentation and governance context.

1. Employment Densities Guide (2nd Edition). Homes and Communities Agency / English Partnerships. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
2. Marina Operations Code (EN). Saudi Red Sea Authority. redsea.gov.sa
3. Average Weather in Jizan, Saudi Arabia Year Round. WeatherSpark. weatherspark.com
4. Parks and Recreation System Improvement Plan, Chapter 5. Map for Mobile. 2021. mapformobile.org
5. Tourism Development Effect On Saudi Economic Diversification. SAMA. Working Paper WP/17/1. 2017. sama.gov.sa
6. Indicative economic multipliers (input-output tables): 2019. Welsh Government. 2025. gov.wales
7. Input-Output Analytical Tables and Multipliers 2019: Employment multiplier definition. NISRA. datavis.nisra.gov.uk
8. Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB). Construction Cost Calculator and hotel GFA per room benchmarks. rlb.com
9. ZAN Project Program + ZAN Financial Model (Internal). ZAN. 2026. Internal.