Jizan

Jizan (جيزان), also spelled Jazan (جازان), Gizan or Gazan, is a port city and the capital of Jizan Region, which lies in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia. Jizan City is situated on the coast of the Red Sea and serves a large agricultural heartland that has a population of 173,919 as of 2022 and over 1.4 million, in the whole Jizan region. As the city is the capital of the region, it has the regional airport as well as the Jizan seaport. The area is noted for its high-quality production of fruits such as mangoes, figs, papayas, plum and coffee.

Jizan has one of the largest megaprojects 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 Red Sea near the city, scheduled for completion in late 2018.

Ethnography
The inhabitants of Jizan are Arab and split between Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims that live in the Jazan region.

Economy
In the early 20th century, Jizan was a major site for pearl fishing. When World War I began, trade declined, due to ships moving to Al Hudaydah.

Today, ambitious projects in transport, renewable energy, tourism and agricultural development are taking place in the Jizan region, particularly in Jazan Economic City, including a US$3 Billion aluminium smelter.

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

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

Climate
Jizan has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh) with a rainfall below 200 mm per year and an average annual temperature above 30 C. 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 20 C and highs over 30 C even in the mildest 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 volatile. Sandstorms are quite common in areas further from the sea.

The highest recorded temperature was 46.3 C on 15 September 2006, while the lowest was 11.8 C on 7 February 1993.