meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Riyadh builds the world’s largest urban park

21 September 2023

 

Tucked away from view behind site hoarding in the centre of Riyadh, work is progressing on a project that will transform the heart of the Saudi capital by creating the world’s largest urban park.

The King Salman Park project will cover an area of 16.7 square kilometres, and more than 70 per cent of that space will be green areas.

“The unique aspect of our project when you compare it to others is the amount of green space it will have,” says George Tanasijevich, CEO of King Salman Park Foundation.

“Other projects will have hotel rooms and residential units, but none will have the amount of green space that King Salman Park will have. It will be substantial by global standards.”

The scale of the project becomes apparent when considering public parks in other major cities. It is five times the area of New York’s Central Park, six times the size of London’s Hyde Park, and 16 times larger than Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.

The aim of King Salman Park is to give residents of Riyadh access to a world-class park on their doorstep – the park is connected to several main roads and linked to the Riyadh Metro and the city’s bus station.

“People today have to travel to experience green spaces, so we are bringing something here that will allow them the convenience of being at home and experiencing the lifestyle benefits of green space,” says Tanasijevich.


Land at the King Salman Park site has been contoured to create hills

While much of the focus of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is on economic transformation, it also includes targets aimed at improving the quality of life for people in the kingdom.

“There is an economic aspect to what we are doing,” says Tanasijevich. “The primary highlight of our contribution [to Vision 2030] is more focused on lifestyle. It is not just being able to spend time in green spaces, but also all the sports facilities that will encourage younger people to become more interested in sports and athletics.”

Project progress

Launched in March 2019, there has been significant progress on the construction of the project. Much of the land has been shaped and contoured to create hills that will break up Riyadh’s typically flat topography.

Work is also advancing on infrastructure and buildings, including the Royal Arts Complex and a visitor centre.

“What we are trying to do is put together components that work together as a standalone project that are self-sustaining. We do not want people to visit and feel something is missing,” says Tanasijevich. 

“We are going to have enough variety and elements in there that even when we open phase one, people are going to embrace it and find a multitude of ways to experience it.”

As construction advances, the project took a major step forward on the first day of the Cityscape Global exhibition, which was held in Riyadh on 10-13 September. There, the King Salman Park Real Estate Development Fund was launched, with the aim of developing the first real estate investment plot within the site.

The fund will bring in fresh financing for a SR4bn ($1.1bn) mixed-use project that will have more than 1,500 residential units together with offices, retail outlets, hotels, schools and other public amenities on a 290,000 square-metre site.

Saudi Fransi Capital is the fund manager and King Salman Park Investment & Real Estate Development Company is the master developer. Naif al-Rajhi Investment Company is the real estate developer and master lessee of the entire project.

Images: King Salman Park Foundation

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11159877/main.gif
Colin Foreman

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Kuwait awards $565m upstream oil contract

    15 April 2026

    Kuwait’s Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) has been awarded a contract for flowlines and associated works in North Kuwait by the state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).

    In a statement to Kuwait’s stock exchange, Heisco said it had received a formal contract award letter for the project, valued at KD174.2m ($565m).

    The contract was awarded under Tender No. RFP-2141028 and was approved by Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders.

    Heisco was the fourth-lowest bidder for the contract.

    In its stock market statement, Heisco said that the financial impact of the contract will be determined at a later stage, with further updates to be provided as the project progresses.

    Heisco has also signed a renewal agreement with a local bank for a KD50m ($165m) loan.

    The company said in a disclosure statement that the loan is intended to finance Heisco’s activities in Kuwait and other countries.

    “Our company has renewed the credit facilities agreement with one of the local banks to finance its activities,” it said.

    Earlier this month, Heisco submitted the lowest bid for a project to upgrade part of the Mina Abdullah refinery’s export infrastructure.

    It submitted a bid of KD11,919,652 ($38.6m) for the project to implement renovation works on the artificial island that forms part of the port at the refinery.

    The only other bidder was Kuwait’s International Marine Construction Company (IMCC), which submitted a bid of KD12,480,113 ($40.4m).

    Kuwait is currently seeing significant disruption to its oil and gas sector due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

    The Mina Abdullah refinery was integrated with the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery as part of the $16bn Clean Fuels Project, which came online in 2021.

    Several units at the Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery were shut down after the refinery was hit by drone attacks last month.

    READ THE APRIL 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16394808/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Malaysian contractor wins $299m Burj Azizi deal

    14 April 2026

    Malaysia’s Eversendai Corporation has secured a AED1.1bn ($299m) contract to carry out steel structure works on the Burj Azizi tower on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai.

    The contract was awarded by local real estate developer Azizi Developments.

    The main construction works on the tower are being carried out by Gardinia Contracting, a subsidiary of Azizi Developments.

    Construction of the 131-storey tower is under way and is expected to be completed by 2029.

    Azizi has appointed France’s Soletanche Bachy to perform the foundation works.

    MEED reported in July 2023 that Azizi Developments had announced plans to construct the Burj Azizi in Dubai.

    Previously, another Dubai-based developer, Meydan, had planned to build the 100-storey Meydan Tower on the same site, but the project was put on hold shortly after initial works began in 2017.

    In September 2022, Azizi Developments purchased a plot of land from Meydan on Sheikh Zayed Road next to World Trade Centre Metro Station 2. No further details were officially released at the time, although the developer said it was working on the design for a large, iconic development on the plot.

    In June 2023, Azizi Developments announced it would build what it called “Dubai’s newest seven-star hotel”.

    READ THE APRIL 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16384636/main.jpeg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Local firm executing Yasref tail gas treatment project

    14 April 2026

     

    Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company (Yasref) is overseeing progress on a key project to build a tail gas treatment unit (TGTU) at its crude refinery complex, located in Yanbu on the west coast of Saudi Arabia.

    Yasref is a joint venture in which Saudi Aramco owns the majority 62.5% stake and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) owns the other 37.5%. The Yasref refinery was commissioned in 2015 and has a crude oil refining capacity of 400,000 barrels a day (b/d).

    The aim of the project, which Yasref calls the tail gas synergy project, is to significantly reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) from its production complex. The 'synergy' comes from integrating primary treatment (such as the Claus process, which typically recovers about 95-97% of sulphur) with advanced secondary treatment in a TGTU, to achieve overall sulphur recovery of nearly 99.9%.

    Yasref awarded the main contract for the tail gas synergy project to Jeddah-based contractor Carlo Gavazzi Arabia earlier this year, according to information obtained by MEED Projects, with the contract estimated at $80m.

    The local branch of London-headquartered Berkeley Engineering Consultants is acting as the project’s main consultant, according to MEED Projects.

    The scope of work on Yasref’s tail gas synergy project includes the following:

    • Construction of downstream TGTU with catalytic hydrogenation reactor and amine absorber train
    • Modification of existing sulphur recovery units
    • Construction of acid gas removal units employing amine solvent systems
    • Construction of desulphurisation units including carbonyl sulphide hydrolysis
    • Construction of associated utilities and auxiliary infrastructure: thermal exchangers, power and steam supplies, flare knockout drums
    • Installation of safety and security systems hydrogen sulphide detection, overpressure relief, firewater deluge, access control, safety instrumented systems
    • Integration of emission monitoring and process control instrumentation.

    In April last year, Aramco, Sinopec and Yasref signed a venture framework agreement for a potential petrochemicals expansion of the Yasref refinery complex into a major integrated petrochemicals facility. The project would include a large-scale mixed-feed steam cracker with a capacity of 1.8 million tonnes a year (t/y) and a 1.5 million-t/y aromatics complex, along with associated downstream derivatives.

    MEED understands that the Yasref petrochemicals expansion project, which is also referred to as Yasref+, is part of Aramco’s $100bn liquids-to-chemicals programme.

    The central ambition of the strategic programme is to derive greater economic value from every barrel of crude produced in Saudi Arabia by converting 4 million b/d of Aramco’s oil production into high-value petrochemicals and chemicals feedstocks by 2030.

    ALSO READ: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16383830/main3043.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Kuwait sets April deadline for $718m drainage tender

    14 April 2026

    Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works has set a 21 April deadline for a major tender estimated to be worth about KD222m ($718m).

    The tender scope covers the construction of rainwater drainage networks across the residential areas of Sabah Al-Ahmad, South Sabah Al-Ahmad, Al-Khairan and Al-Wafra.

    The Ministry of Public Works floated the tender on 22 March.

    According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the works include the construction of a major concrete sewer, three collection basins and extensive stormwater drainage basins.

    Rainwater collection tanks will be connected through an independent network, with outlets to the sea via the Nuwaiseeb exit to manage overflow.

    The infrastructure will also filter pollutants such as oils, minerals and sediments to protect water quality and support environmental sustainability.

    The project aims to reduce surface runoff, prevent street and urban flooding, and improve groundwater recharge.

    UK analytics firm GlobalData expects Kuwait’s construction industry to grow by 5.1% in 2026-29, supported by government investment in the oil and gas sector aimed at raising production, as well as investment in the infrastructure sector.

    In the short term, growth will be boosted by planned expenditure under the 2025-26 budget, which was approved in March 2025.

    The construction industry in Kuwait is expected to record an annual average growth rate of 4.9% in 2026-29, supported by investments in renewable energy, transport, and oil and gas projects.

    READ THE APRIL 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16383203/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Local firm makes hydrocarbon discovery in Oman’s Block 7

    14 April 2026

    Omani oil and gas exploration and production company Masar Petroleum has announced a discovery in the Hasirah Ridge in the sultanate’s Block 7.

    Masar Petroleum was the inaugural operator to appraise and produce hydrocarbons from the Hasirah reservoir in Block 7 in 2017.

    Building on that experience, Masar Petroleum has now successfully drilled a new exploration well south of its existing discoveries, validating the concept of the Hasirah Ridge — a geological trend 5 kilometres wide and 30km long mapped across Block 7 using 2D seismic data.

    This discovery represents the first step towards unlocking the Ridge’s prospective resource base of 100 million to 380 million barrels, Masar Petroleum said in a statement.

    Following this discovery, a planned 3D seismic survey and exploration and appraisal programme is expected to advance the development of the new resources by the end of 2028.

    First production from this field is expected to come on stream during the last quarter of this year.

    Masar Petroleum plans to rapidly advance appraisal and development opportunities across Block 7.

    “Masar is a proud Omani E&P company that has delivered significant value through a continuous and focused effort on unlocking our potential,” Abdulsattar AlMurshidi, CEO of Masar Petroleum, said.

    ALSO READ: Oman offers five hydrocarbon exploration blocks in new bidding round
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16383075/main2121.jpg
    Indrajit Sen