Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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Between 1973 and 1986 Arar witnessed an increase in its population at the average growth
rate of 24 percent, a growth which, by 1987, gave Arar a population of 65,000. During
the same period Turaif s population reached 20,000 while Rafha attained 17,000, both
increased at an annual rate of 7.3 percent and 13.9 percent respectively. Such growth rates
reflected the acute urbanization process associated with economic and administrative sector
development brought by oil industrialization and the growing influence and affluence of the
central government.
Especially during its early years of formation, the transport of oil was the raison de
etre for Arar's existence. Yet, oil served only as the kickoff for Arar's subsequent
development the ground up. Oil-related activity has set in motion an urbanization process
that continued even with the suspension of most of the oil transported through the Tapline
following the eruption of the civil war in Lebanon in the mid 1970s. Arar was to pick up
on its own, relying on government employment and business generated by the residents'
demand and traffic of the Tapline highway connecting the Arabian Gulf with the
Mediterranean shores. For example, by 1973, Arar witnessed daily traffic of 136 trucks,
1,289 small cars, 35 buses and 191 taxis. 6 In addition, the Tapline towns were equipped
with airfields which strengthened the new towns with national urban centers. During the
1970s, a new airport was constructed serving approximately 70 flights per week.
Politically, Arar's subsequent development could only be understood in light of the
Kingdom's socio-political environment, in general, and the city's administrative and
borderline role in the regional geopolitics, in particular. Arar's industrial complex is
situated in the middle an unsettled region in the north part of the Kingdom abutting Jordan
and Iraq. The need to assure Saudi sovereignty over this desolate area called for extra
attention by the central authorities to settle the barren area. Although the genesis and early
growth of the Tapline's towns reposed on the economic principles of oil marketing, later
urban development must be credited to the national government's interest in enhancing
urban centers in the desolate northern region for several factors, one of which was the
central government's concern for national security and sovereignty.
III. ECONOMIC GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE
During the 1950s and early 1960s, Arar's growth continued as the town attracted
more inhabitants, a reflection of the urbanization process throughout the nation, thanks to