Gulf Construction Online - Work starts on $23bn Riyadh wellness plan

Saudi Focus

King Salman Park ... expected to be the largest city park in the world.

Work starts on $23bn Riyadh wellness plan

01 October 2019

Saudi Arabia has started work on four major well-being projects in Riyadh, which are being implemented as part of an ambitious urban planning and civil engineering programme to transform the kingdom’s capital into one of the most livable cities in the world, according to the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC).

The four major projects – King Salman Park, Sports Boulevard, Green Riyadh and Riyadh Art – being developed at an investment of $23 billion, will help enhance the lives of the seven million residents of the city, stated the RCRC, formerly known as Riyadh Development Authority.

Once completed, King Salman Park will be the largest city park in the world, covering a 13.4-sq-km area – four times the size of Central Park in New York.

Sports Boulevard will be a state-of-the-art health and wellness destination in the heart of the city, providing a network of cycle routes and adding an impressive 135 km of professional cycling track.

Green Riyadh is a citywide greening initiative which includes the planting of 7.5 million trees. The project will help lower the temperature of the city by 2 degrees C and provide welcome shade, allowing residents to walk and exercise outside, stated the RCRC.

The final project, Riyadh Art will establish the city as ‘a gallery without walls’ through a world-class interactive public arts programme. The project will curate 1,000 pieces of art through world-class art programmes and host annual art festivals.

These four transformative projects, managed by the RCRC, complement the Saudi Vision 2030 ‘Quality of Life’ Programme and are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to create sustainable cities and communities, while driving urgent action against climate change, it added.

Construction of King Salman Park alone will generate around 50,000 jobs to completion, and then thousands more service jobs ongoing, stated the RCRC.

Tourism is expected to flourish in the city that will become a destination of choice, not only for business but also for leisure. And families will thrive with improved mobility, a better environment, and greater opportunities to experience art and culture, it added.