Four well-being projects announced for the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh
King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia recently launched four well-being projects for the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh, which will significantly improve the lives of its citizens, transform the city into an attractive destination and make it one of the world’s most livable cities.
The four wellbeing projects—King Salman Park, Sports Boulevard, Green Riyadh and Riyadh Art–complement the Saudi Vision 2030’s ‘Quality of Life’ Programme and are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals-SDGs), to create sustainable cities and communities, while driving urgent action against climate change.
Developed with a government investment of US$ 23bn, the four projects will offer opportunities worth US$ 15bn on for the private sector to invest in the residential, commercial, recreational and wellness areas. In addition to providing tens of thousands of new jobs, they will also contribute to an integrated approach to wellness, health, sports, culture and the arts, underpinned by a commitment to environmental sustainability.
The 13.4sqkm, King Salman Park will be a green oasis in an urban setting and will be the largest city park in the world. Besides residences and hotels, it will also feature a Royal Arts Complex, theatres, museums, cinemas, sports venues, water features, restaurants and an 18-hole Royal Golf Course.
One of the world’s largest urban greening projects, Green Riyadh will increase the green cover in the Saudi capital with the planting of 7.5mn trees. This will help increase the city’s green cover from 1.5% of the total area to 9.1%, or approximately 541sqkm, by 2030.
An iconic new health and wellness destination in the heart of the city, Sports Boulevard will feature a 135 kilometer-long professional cycling track covering the city and the surrounding valleys, the first of its kind in the region. Adding 3.5mn sqm of new open space across the city, this grand project will also feature a sports pavilion, riding stables and athletics tracks, in fact accommodating a wide variety of sports activities.
Riyadh Art is the world’s single largest government investment in public art and will establish the city as ‘a gallery without walls’ through a world-class interactive public arts program.
Construction for the above four well-being projects will start in the H2- 2019.
