During a recent meeting, members of Riyadh Development Higher Commission (RDHC) approved a plan to develop Riyadh's downtown into a historic, administrative, economic and cultural area.
The plan aims to bring about a facelift to the capital's downtown area and make it an outstanding historic, administrative, economic and cultural center in the Kingdom.
The project also includes new residential districts, recreation centers, parks, green open areas for people to take rest and modern transport systems. The central region will have three main railway lines and several bus routes and will house the main railway station as part of the Riyadh metro project. The Riyadh metro project will be part of the city's public transport system.
Three international consortia have won the design and build contracts for the six-line automated metro project; Italian firm Ansaldo STS as the leader of the Arriyadh New Mobility group (ANM), will be responsible for one line with a total distance of 40.7 km; US firm Bechtel, which leads the BACS consortium, will design and build two lines with a total distance of 63.3 km; and finally Spanish firm FCC Construccion heads up the FAST consortium and will be delivering three lines that cover a total distance of 72.5 km.
"We plan to create a new cultural heritage and tourism route, beginning from the King Abdulaziz Historical Center to the Government Palace (Qasr Al-Hukm)," said Al-Sultan, a commission member, in a statement issued earlier.
Some 3,088-development projects worth SR278 billion ($74 billion) are being implemented in different parts of Riyadh region and 62 agencies have been authorized to follow up on the implementation of the projects.
These agencies will also generate proposals for the development of the region and ways to resolve obstacles facing development. In addition, they will present regular progress reports to the RDHC.
Earlier, the rules and regulations for the development of Wadi Hanifa and surrounding valleys were approved by the RDHC. The project aims to make use of the area as a tourist and amusement center, while preserving its agricultural and heritage sites.
ifpinfo
20 August
