Gulf Construction Online - $800bn plan launched to transform Riyadh

Saudi Focus

The plan involves creation of a mega industrial zone in Riyadh focusing on advanced technology.

$800bn plan launched to transform Riyadh

01 August 2020

Saudi Arabia is launching a SR3-trillion ($800 billion) plan to double the size of capital Riyadh in the next decade and transform it into an economic, social and cultural hub for the region, reported Arab News.

The plan involves the creation of a mega industrial zone focusing on advanced technology such as renewables and automation, and biotechnology and aquaponics.

Another key feature is sustainability, with energy conservation, the circular carbon economy with its emphasis on reducing emissions, and water management, all priorities, it stated, citing a senior government official.

“You will see seven million trees planted in Riyadh in the next few years, and King Salman Park will be bigger than Hyde Park in London,” remarked Fahd Al Rasheed, President of the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh, while unveiling the ambitious strategy for Saudi capital, ahead of key meetings of the U20, the arm of the G20 leaders’ summit that deals with urban development and strategy.

“Riyadh is a very important economic engine for the kingdom, and although it’s already very successful, the plan now, under Vision 2030, is to actually take that way further, to double the population to 15 million people,” he stated.

According to him, around $250 billion in investment is expected from the private sector, with the same amount generated by increased economic activity from population growth, finance and banking, cultural and desert tourism, and leisure events.

“We’ve already launched 18 megaprojects in the city, worth over SR1 trillion to both improve livability and deliver much higher economic growth so we can create jobs and double the population in 10 years,” he added.

According to him, Riyadh is also aiming to become a Middle East artistic and cultural hub. “An opera house is being considered, as well as public art shows with 1,000 works commissioned from around the world. We have not seen anything like it since Renaissance Florence,” Al-Rasheed told Arab News. “It is a significant plan and the whole city is working to make sure this happens.”