This Day in History (1994): Rabigh — home to 4,000 on Red Sea Coast

From the Dec. 28, 1994 edition of The Arabian Sun

Where's Rabigh?

It's a question with which residents of Rabigh Industrial City have become familiar since Saudi Aramco inherited the location in 1993.

The new community of Rabigh Industrial City, where construction was completed in 1991, lies some 20 kilometers from the old town about midway between Yanbu' and Jiddah. 

Rabigh Industrial City, directly adjacent to the Red Sea beach, is a fully self-supporting residential camp, essentially a small town of more than 1,300 housing units.

Four schools in the camp provide education for Arab boys and girls from kindergaren through secondary levels; sports and recreation centers featuring pools, gyms, tennis and squash courts, and a host of other facilities including a flood-lit soccer field with surrounding running track.

There is a centrally located community center, planned for a mix of office and commercial uses, local supermarkets, gas station, a 23-room transient hall with magnificent sea views and fully equipped medical clinic.

Management functions are provided for, with administration, communications, security, and fire control buildings. Life-support plants provide electric power and sweet water.

This modern facility, under the direction of acting manager Deya Elyas, provides housing and community services for employees of both Saudi Aramco and the joint venture refinery.

Caption for top photo: The recreation area has two nice pools and is near a large soccer stadium, seen in the background.

Also on this date

2014 — Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard

2004 — American actor and singer Jerry Orbach dies

1983 — Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys drowns at the age of 39 in Marina Del Ray 

1973 — The U.S. Endangered Species Act is signed into law by U.S. President Richard Nixon

1972 — The last scheduled day for military induction via the draft and the Selective Service System in the U.S.

1958 — The Baltimore Colts top the New York Giants in the National Football League sudden death overtime game

1918 — Constance Markievicz becomes the first woman to be elected Member of Parliament to the British House of Commons

1912 — The first municipally owned streetcars begin operation in San Francisco

1895 — Wilhelm Roentgen publishes a paper detailing the discovery of radiation that will later be known as x-rays

1836 — Span recognizes the independence of Mexico

1832 — John C. Calhoun becomes the first U.S. vice president to resign