Report: Saudi Arabia launches $800b plan to double size of Riyadh

Plan involves the creation of a “mega industrial zone” focusing on advanced technology

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Riyadh is already a very important economic engine for the kingdom.
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Dubai: Saudi Arabia has launched a SR3 trillion ($800 billion) plan to reshape Riyadh in the next decade and transform it into the Middle East’s top economic, social and cultural hub, according to Saudi media reports.

The mega-plan was unveiled by Fahd Al Rasheed, President of the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh, ahead of key meetings of the U20, the arm of the G20 leaders’ summit that deals with urban development and strategy.

Here are a list of top big projects with billions of investments currently going on in Saudi Arabia:

1. Riyadh Metro Cost: $23 billion Completion: 1st Phase to open in 2020 2. Jeddah Metro Cost: $60 billion Completion: 2025 3. King Salman Park Cost: $23 billion Completion: 2025 4. Makkah Public Transport Programme Cost: $16.5 billion Completion: 2025 5. Jeddah Tower Cost: $1.4 billion Completion: Scheduled for 2020 6. Neom - City with roaming Robots Cost: $500 billion Completion: 2025 7. Qiddiya Project Cost: $8 billion Completion: 2030 8. Red Sea Project Cost: Unknown Completion: 2030 9. Ad Diriyah Cost: $17 Billion Completion: In Process 10. Resort in Al Ula Cost: Unknown Completion: 2035 11. Jabal Omar Cost: $4.3 billion Completion: In Process 12. World’s largest mixed use shopping stop in Riyadh Cost: $5 billion Completion: 1st phase in 2021 13. King Fahad Medical City Expansion Cost: $14 billion Completion: By end of 2021 14. Pepsi’s Chinese bottle maker comes to Saudi Arabia Cost: $1 billion Completion: 2020 15. Amaala - Tourism Destination Cost: Unknown Completion: 2028 16. Mall of Saudi Cost: $3.2 billion Completion: 2025 17. The Knowledge Economic City Cost: $22.5 billion

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.

“Seven million trees planted in Riyadh in the next few years and King Salman Park will be bigger than Hyde Park in London. Riyadh is already 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 15m people,” said Al Rasheed, president of the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh, told Arab News.

“We’ve already launched 18 megaprojects in the city, worth over SR1 trillion, ($250 billion) to both improve livability and deliver much higher economic growth so we can create jobs and double the population in 10 years. It’s a significant plan and the whole city is working to make sure this happens.” Al Rasheed added.

Saudi Arabia has been heavily investing billions of Riyals into its giga-projects, transport and mobility schemes, in order to move off the country from the oil dependent and to open its doors to millions of Tourists from all over the world.

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