RCRC announces the construction of King Abdulaziz Park as part of “Green Riyadh”

Riyadh – Asdaf News:

Work has begun on the new King Abdulaziz Park, one of the largest parks in the city of ‎Riyadh. The Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) announced that construction work has started, as part of Green Riyadh and is expected to be completed in 36 months.‎ The park is to be named “King Abdulaziz Park” under the direction of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, based on the recommendation of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

Covering a vast area of 4.3 million square meters, the park’s design was chosen from submissions of four international companies each offering innovative ideas and concepts that achieve sustainability ‎and conform to environmental standards. The design ensures integration with the local environment and features six distinct themed gardens, filled with a variety of plant species and original landscape designs.

The center of the park will feature a ‘Botanical Garden’ spanning over 200,000 square meters, and home to more than 200 species of local plants. Additionally, Munsiyah tributary, a branch of Al Sulai valley, runs through the park, with a total of 11 kilometers and covering more than 770,000 square meters within the Botanical Garden.

The remaining five garden designs reflect the Kingdom’s highlands, lowlands, rangelands, meadows and plateaus, each featuring a variety of trees and shrubs selected to promote biodiversity and attract birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.

The King Abdulaziz Park will have 65% of its area shaded by over two million carefully selected trees and shrubs, chosen for their suitability to the city of Riyadh’s environment to ensure their sustainability. Treated water for irrigation will be used to meet the needs of the new vegetation.

The park will feature distinctive environmental landmarks, creating an urban landscape that attracts city residents and tourists, and providing ample recreational spaces. It will include 24 children’s play areas, and 30 sports areas distributed throughout the park. The park will also utilize Munsiyah tributary to help reduce the ambient temperature, providing a healthy environment for all ages, and encouraging users to increase their daily steps to over 6,000 through shaded paths designed for walking, jogging, and cycling, extending over 115 kilometers. There will be green terraces, open spaces, theaters for events and festivals, restaurants, and various recreational activities, as well as commercial buildings with sustainable designs that blend seamlessly into the landscape, along with a panoramic path over two kilometers long, giving views over the botanical garden

The new King Abdulaziz Park is strategically located in the north of Riyadh, bordered by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Road to the north, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Road to the west, Prince Badr bin Abdulmohsen Road to the east and Anas Ibn Malik Road to the south. The park is also located near key sites such as King Khalid International Airport and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University and is connected to the Riyadh Metro Station, facilitating easy access from all parts of the city.

Green Riyadh has started construction works on several major city parks, including Al-Urubah, Al Munsiyah, Al Rimmal, and Al Qadisiyah parks, along with developing valleys and their tributaries, and main roads such as King Salman Road and King Khalid Road. Greening works include neighborhoods, neighborhood parks, developing pedestrian streets and corridors, and planting trees in mosques, schools, parking lot areas, and government buildings such as ministries, authorities and universities. The megaproject includes the development of water networks for irrigation totaling 1,350 km across the city. And nurseries, with the aim to produce three million trees, shrubs, and soil covers annually to provide the necessary planting needs.

Green Riyadh is contributing significantly to achieving the goals of the Saudi ‎Green Initiative (SGI) and Saudi Vision 2030 to plant 10 billion trees in the Kingdom. The megaproject aims to plant 7.5 million trees in Riyadh, increasing the city’s green cover to 9%, and raising the per capita of green space from 1.7 square meters to 28 square meters, equivalent to 16 times its current level. Green Riyadh also ‎contributes to lowering the city’s temperature and improving air quality by reducing ‎pollution and dust. It will help in enhancing Riyadh’s global rankings “to become one of the ‎most livable cities in the world.”