Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Business Property

Dubai firm to design Saudi Arabia’s latest ‘smart city’ - AlNama – in Riyadh

The 1,000-hectare development in Riyadh is being designed by URB in Dubai



In Saudi Arabia, a new smart city is coming off the pipeline, for an eventual resident base of 44,000 people.
Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: Saudi Arabia is staying the course with massive mixed-use projects, with the latest being a 10 square kilometre spread called ‘AlNama’ in Riyadh. Derived from the Arabic word ‘thrive’, the ‘smart city’ is planned for 11,000 residential units and an eventual population of 44,000 people. The 1,000-hectare development will create 10,000 jobs in various sectors, including green-tech industries to create a ‘green circular economy’.

The project’s design is being developed by URB, a boutique planning and design consultancy based out of Dubai Design District. “AlNama aims to be the next generation of self-sufficient city, producing all the city’s renewable energy needs, as well as the resident’s caloric food intake on site,” said Baharash Bagherian, CEO of URB, in a statement. “The city was planned through the design of its landscape, rather than its buildings. This creates an urbanism that is more socially inclusive, more economically valuable, and more sensitive to the environment.”

1 of 3

Eco-friendly glamping lodges, eco resorts as well as a nature conservation centre are key components of the hospitality hub, which will promote ecotourism. An autism village, wellness centre and clinics within the medical hub will help promote medical tourism.

“Ultimately the city will become a work, live and visit a destination where people, planet and profit can thrive in balance,” the statement added. “It will become a new benchmark model for all future cities to be planned to promote greener economies that center around food, water, energy and waste.”

Advertisement