沙特阿拉伯以豐富得驚人的石油資源聞名世界，有“石油王國”、“沙漠超級富國”之稱。沙特也是世界上“寄生性富?！蹦Ｊ阶畹湫偷膰抑?。所謂“寄生性富?！保傅氖沁@些國家靠出售自然資源獲得別國創(chuàng)造的財富。石油是天然資源，也是暴利資源，以沙特為代表的不少中東國家都走著類似的致富道路。

既然是“寄生性”，沙特的富裕就有它致命的“硬傷”。石油是沙特的立國之本，致富之源。如果到了石油枯竭，或是人類成功找到替代能源的那一天，沙特將何去何從？

慶幸的是，沙特已經(jīng)感受到了危機(jī)，現(xiàn)在已開始發(fā)展多元化經(jīng)濟(jì)，試圖實(shí)現(xiàn)從“寄生性富?！钡健胺羌纳愿辉！钡霓D(zhuǎn)型了。

In Medina， Saudi Arabia， clouds of yellow dust 1)swirled in the air as tractors moved back and forth， leveling a huge， 2)barren piece of land dotted with billboards announcing the city that will rise from the sand here. Over the next few years， Saudi officials say this stretch of desert will be transformed into a buzzing 3)hub of scientific research and development， with 4)cutting-edge universities， hospitals and housing for more than 130，000 people attracted by the idea of living in the city where Islam’s 5)prophet Muhammad is buried.

The project， called Knowledge Economic City， represents a first serious step by Saudi Arabia toward building a post-petroleum economy. It is one of six major industrial centers planned to rise over the next 15 years. These cities-6)from-scratch are the most ambitious projects 7)to date launched by a kingdom enriched almost entirely by oil since its 8)disparate regions were unified into a state more than seven decades ago. In beginning to construct an economy to survive the end of its natural resources， the Saudi government is 9)drawing on lessons learned during a previous oil boom when profits were 10)squandered in part by 11)spendthrift princes and short-term planning that emphasized infrastructure over education. “The ruling dynasty is under pressure to show its population that the oil money is being reinvested 12)for the good of the people. The 13)al-Sauds have suffered from the image of the ruling family as corrupt and spending lavishly，” said Rochdi Younsi， an analyst with the Eurasia Group， a consulting firm that provides political risk analysis of countries around the world.

With oil prices peaking above $145 a 14)barrel in recent weeks， the kingdom is 15)reaping an 16)unprecedented 17)windfall from its vast 18)reservoirs of oil， which represent a quarter of the world’s proven reserves. Saudi Arabia reported oil income of $200 billion last year and projects $700 billion in revenue over the next two years. The kingdom earned an average of $43 billion annually throughout the 1990s. But Saudi officials have long feared that too-high oil prices would push the world toward alternative fuels， a concern captured by one former oil minister’s tart reminder that “the Stone Age did not end for lack of stone.”

To meet rising demand， as well as to slow the world’s rush to develop alternative energy sources， Saudi officials have raised oil production by 500，000 barrels a day since May. Though increased production means the Saudi reserves will be 19)depleted faster， the government is using a burst of additional capital to develop an economy it hopes will eventually be 20)untethered from the price of oil.

The new cities are part of a broader effort to diversify the economy away from oil and away from its reliance on the public sector. The cities are intended to develop more of a non-oil economy， well before the oil runs out. Based on economic zones around the world， the cities aim to trade Saudi assets—plentiful and cheap oil and vast open spaces—for foreign 21)expertise and training. Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic program calls for the kingdom to be among the world’s top 10 economies 22)in terms of ease of doing business by 2010， up from its current rank of 23rd.

Saudi officials said they are working on easing the lifestyle and visa restrictions that have kept foreigners from investing and living in the kingdom. One side effect of that will probably be an easing of rules that ban men and women from mingling in public unless they are close relatives.

“We’re not anymore an isolated island. We realize the challenge today in order for us to be more competitive means more transparency and more gender equality，” said Abdullah Hameedadin， head of the Economic Cities Agency at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority， the government body overseeing the projects.

An oil 23)bonanza in the 1970s that poured billions of dollars into government coffers turned the kingdom into a rich nation and helped modernize its infrastructure with eight-lane highways， hospitals， malls， universities and 24)desalination plants. Despite the decades of oil wealth， the Saudi education system is ranked as one of the worst worldwide， tens of thousands of university graduates are unemployed， and the country manufactures and produces very little. Saudi Arabia consumes locally only 2 percent of the oil it produces.

Oil accounts for 90 percent of Saudi Arabia’s income. And until oil prices slumped in the 1990s， officials faced little pressure to diver-sify the economy. “This is what some people call ‘the curse of oil.’ You don’t need to train people， you don’t need to work so hard，” said Kinninmont， the economist. Change has come about “partly because of the experience of the ’90s，” she said. “Lots of political and economic problems still haunt the policymakers.”

When the six cities are complete， about 2020， they will house nearly 5 million people and provide more than 1 million jobs， planners say. The cities provide regional balance by creating jobs and industries in some of the most underdeveloped regions and cities in the kingdom. One of the cities is expected to become a center for heavy industry， and several Chinese firms have already signed up to start 25)aluminum 26)smelters there， according to Saudi officials.

在沙特阿拉伯的麥地那，拖拉機(jī)來回開動，卷起漫天飛舞的黃色塵土，把這片廣袤貧瘠、戶外廣告牌隨處可見的土地夷平——這一切表明，一座城市將在這片沙地拔地而起。沙特政府官員稱，在未來幾年內(nèi)，這片沙漠將變成興旺的科研開發(fā)樞紐中心，頂級學(xué)府以及設(shè)備完善的醫(yī)院和樓宇將匯聚此地，吸引超過13萬人前來定居，生活在這個伊斯蘭教先知穆罕默德安息之地的城市。

這個名為“知識經(jīng)濟(jì)城市”的計(jì)劃是沙特阿拉伯邁出的構(gòu)建后石油經(jīng)濟(jì)的關(guān)鍵第一步。這是未來15年中新崛起的六個主要工業(yè)中心之一。這些從零建起的城市是迄今為止沙特阿拉伯啟動的最具野心的項(xiàng)目。這個七十多年前由不同區(qū)域統(tǒng)一而成的國家?guī)缀跬耆强渴椭赂坏?。為了?gòu)建天然資源枯竭后的后石油時代經(jīng)濟(jì)，沙特政府吸取前車之鑒，不重蹈歷史覆轍——當(dāng)年石油資源極其豐富之時，相當(dāng)一部分財富被揮霍無度的王子們揮灑一空，而且當(dāng)時國家的短期計(jì)劃將基建置于教育之上的地位?！爱?dāng)權(quán)政府面臨壓力，他們要向人民表明，石油帶來的財富正被重新用于人們的福利方面。沙特統(tǒng)治者的形象已經(jīng)受到重挫，人們看到的是一個墮落奢侈的統(tǒng)治家族，”對世界各國進(jìn)行政治風(fēng)險分析的咨詢公司歐亞集團(tuán)的分析師羅詩迪·尤斯說道。

最近幾周，世界石油價格已經(jīng)飚升到每桶超過145美元，石油儲量占世界石油探明儲量四分之一的沙特阿拉伯著實(shí)發(fā)了一筆橫財。沙特公布去年石油給該國帶來的收入為2000億美元，并估計(jì)未來兩年石油帶來的財政收入可達(dá)7000億美元。上世紀(jì)90年代期間，沙特平均每年的收入為430億美元。然而，沙特政府一直擔(dān)心，高昂的油價會促使世界尋找開發(fā)替代能源，一位前石油部長發(fā)表的語氣尖酸的言論充分說明了這一點(diǎn)：“石器時代的終結(jié)并不用等到石頭枯竭的那一天?！?/p>

為滿足日增的需求，同時也為了減緩世界尋求替代能源的步伐，從今年五月開始，沙特政府已經(jīng)將石油的日產(chǎn)量增加了50萬桶。雖然此舉意味著沙特的石油儲藏量會消耗得更快，但沙特政府正額外撥出大量資金發(fā)展最終可擺脫依賴石油價格的新型經(jīng)濟(jì)。

新興城市的興建只是沙特政府為使本國經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)現(xiàn)多元化而采取的系列措施之一，其目的是使沙特經(jīng)濟(jì)擺脫對石油以及公共部門的依賴。這些城市誕生的初衷是為了在石油枯竭之前發(fā)展非石油經(jīng)濟(jì)。這些城市旨在以全球的經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)域?yàn)榛?，利用沙特的?yōu)勢——大量廉價的石油及廣袤的領(lǐng)土空間——交換外國的先進(jìn)技術(shù)以及培訓(xùn)。在經(jīng)商環(huán)境的吸引力方面，沙特目前世界排名第23，但該國的宏偉經(jīng)濟(jì)藍(lán)圖定下的目標(biāo)是要在2010年以前躋身世界前十位。

沙特政府稱其正在放松對國民生活方式及簽證方面的限制。嚴(yán)格的簽證要求一直將希望前來該國投資與生活的外國人拒之門外。改變帶來一個間接的影響可能就是，目前在公共場合男女嚴(yán)格分離（除非他們是近親）的規(guī)定會得以放松。

“我們再不是個孤立的島嶼了，我們意識到當(dāng)今世界的挑戰(zhàn)，為了使我們更具競爭力，我們需要更高的透明度以及更大程度上的男女平等。”經(jīng)濟(jì)城市部的總負(fù)責(zé)人阿卜杜拉·哈米達(dá)丁說道。經(jīng)濟(jì)城市部隸屬于沙特阿拉伯投資總局，而后者為負(fù)責(zé)監(jiān)督這一系列工程的政府機(jī)構(gòu)。

上世紀(jì)70年代，石油蘊(yùn)藏的意外發(fā)現(xiàn)給沙特政府帶來源源不盡的巨額收入，該國從此成為世界富國，現(xiàn)代化的基建設(shè)施逐一得到完善，包括八車道的高速公路、醫(yī)院、商場、大學(xué)以及脫鹽工廠。盡管沙特因石油而致富已有幾十年，但沙特的教育系統(tǒng)卻一直位列世界榜尾。數(shù)以萬計(jì)的大學(xué)畢業(yè)生失業(yè)，整個國家制造業(yè)和生產(chǎn)業(yè)相當(dāng)落后。沙特全國僅消耗其石油產(chǎn)量的2%。

石油占沙特阿拉伯收入的九成，直至上世紀(jì)90年代油價大跌以前，沙特政府幾乎從未面臨過實(shí)現(xiàn)經(jīng)濟(jì)多元化的壓力。“這就是一些人所說的‘石油的詛咒’。你不必為國民提供培訓(xùn)，你不必辛勤勞動?！苯?jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家肯寧蒙特說道?，F(xiàn)在形勢發(fā)生了改變，這“其中部分原因是由于上世紀(jì)90年代的經(jīng)歷，”她說，“許多政治和經(jīng)濟(jì)方面的問題現(xiàn)在依然困擾著決策者們?！?/p>

規(guī)劃師稱，等到這六座城市在2020年左右都建好的時候，它們將為近500萬居住在這里的人們提供超過100萬個就業(yè)機(jī)會。這些城市將為沙特最不發(fā)達(dá)的地區(qū)和城市創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會，發(fā)展各種產(chǎn)業(yè)——這將有助于平衡沙特全國各地的經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展。據(jù)沙特官員稱，其中一個城市有望成為重工業(yè)中心，好幾個中國公司已經(jīng)簽署了合同，即將準(zhǔn)備在此建立煉鋁廠。