Photos: Construction work begins on Al Urubah Park, one of Riyadh's largest parks

Riyadh: The Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) announced the start of the construction works of Al Urubah Park, one of the largest parks in the city of Riyadh, as part of the 'Green Riyadh' program.

Construction works began on the project, which has an area of 754,000 square metres. The park is distinguished by its vital location at the intersection of Prince Turki Bin Abdulaziz Al Awwal Road with Al Urubah Road, allowing residents to access it from various parts of the city easily.

The park contributes to raising the quality of life, providing recreational places for residents and visitors, and transforming the city of Riyadh into one of the most sustainable cities in the world, it said in a news release.

The park's unique design with international specifications was adopted from several designs submitted by six international contestants who participated in the competition to present the best ideas and designs to achieve sustainability and conform to environmental standards.

The design features a panoramic path 3 kilometres long and 12 meters high, providing a view of the city's landmarks. Modern technologies utilized in the design gives visitors an interactive experience using augmented reality.

Over 600,000 trees and shrubs will be planted, covering 65% of the park's area. In addition, the development of permanent water bodies accommodated in the initial design stages with the Al Laysan Valley pass through the park.

The park also features a 14 km-long walking trail, green terraces, open spaces, and theatres for events and festivals. The release also includes information about sports facilities catering to various age groups.

Notably, the Green Riyadh Program works on planting residential neighbourhoods, developing neighbourhood parks, streets and corridors, developing sidewalks and pedestrian walkways, mosques and schools, as well as planting valleys and their tributaries, main roads, and government and public buildings such as ministries, authorities, and universities, in addition to developing water networks for irrigation with a total length of 1,350 km at the city level.

Green Riyadh Nurseries also works to produce 3 million trees, shrubs, and soil covers annually to provide the necessary planting needs. The "Green Riyadh" program contributes significantly to achieving one of the goals of the Saudi Green Initiative and the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which is to plant 10 billion trees within the Kingdom.

The program aims to plant 7.5 million of these trees in the city of Riyadh and increase the city's vegetation cover to 9%, increasing the per capita share of green space from 1.7 square metres to 28 square metres, equivalent to 16 times its current level.

The program also contributes to lowering the city's temperature and improving air quality by reducing pollution and dust. It also enhances Riyadh's global rankings to become one of the "most livable cities in the world."