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Algonquin College is expanding its branches in the Middle East, opening a new campus in Kuwait and planning another in Dubai.

Meanwhile, Algonquin’s men-only college in Saudi Arabia has had a rough start, losing nearly $1 million last school year.

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The college in the city of Jazan opened in 2013 with promises of being a money-maker for Algonquin while bringing high-quality technical education to students in Saudi Arabia. Before it opened, officials said Algonquin College Jazan would eventually bring in revenue of “over $25 million” annually, and a profit of about $19 million over Jazan’s first five years of operation.

That projection was downgraded last year to an estimated profit of $4.68 million over five years.

Officials still expect to meet the revised target, says Doug Wotherspoon, Algonquin’s vice-president of international and strategic priorities. The Jazan college made a $79,000 profit in its first year of operation, then lost $983,000 in 2014-15, he said. Projections call for it to earn profits this year and for the next two years.