Riyadh to be turned ‘into a megatropolis’: Royal Commission President

Plans have been put in place to turn Saudi Arabia’s capital city Riyadh “into a megatropolis,” the President of The Royal Commission for Riyadh City Fahd al-Rasheed said.

The plan calls for an 8 percent growth in population per year, “which means over the next 10 years will are going to be very busy, planning and accommodating for that growth,” al-Rasheed explained.

The $27 billion Riyadh metro project is the first stage of the city’s expansion plan. “That project is going to improve transportation the city and increase public transport percentage of transport from 1 percent to 20 percent,” he said.

Al-Rasheed was speaking on the sidelines of the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where climate change is a key topic of debate. For Riyadh, he noted that addressing the climate change challenge “is a very important element of our agenda.”

Under the Green Riyadh initiative, the city plans to plant one tree for every one of its citizens – meaning over seven million trees will be planted, along with a park that will be five times the size of Hyde Park in London, said al-Rasheed.

Riyadh “is going to be as green as the city of London,” he added.