BY AEVAN CARO
Known for its vast arid landscapes, the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, is ready to set foot on its new journey to a greener pasture.
The Green Riyadh project under the Royal Commission for Riyadh is an afforestation program launched by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at the initiative of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. It is one of the four major Riyadh projects for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 that aims to improve the quality of life in the Kingdom’s capital city.
Focused on the main goal of planting a total of 7.5 million trees in the next ten years, shades of green and shadows beneath growing trees will soon fill the surroundings of the city, including parks, mosques, schools, healthcare facilities, as well as main roads, streets, parking areas, and valleys.
One of the world’s most ambitious urban forestation projects, Green Riyadh will provide improvement in Riyadh’s air quality and reduce the city’s temperature.
As the project helps contribute to increasing the per capita share of green space from 1.7 square meters to 28 square meters through planting special species of trees, it will also save and provide natural territories and biological diversity within the city of Riyadh along with its provinces. It is also expected that from the 1.5 percent green areas within the total developed area of Riyadh, it will increase to 9.1 percent by the year 2030.
The first phase of the Green Riyadh project started before the holy month of Ramadan this year and is currently underway with an anticipated target of planting a total of 31,000 trees and 100,000 shrubs through Riyadh’s main highways such as Airport Road, King Salman Road, King Khalid Road, King Fahad Road, Makkah Road, Northern and Eastern Ring Roads.
The dry weather condition of Riyadh did not hinder the initiation of this greening project since they have looked into selected species of trees which will surely survive the desert environment and will not require huge amounts of water.
Water scarcity may be a threat but not for the Green Riyadh project. They have secured the water supply through new irrigation networks that use recycled water. It enables reusing of sufficient water from raw sewage treatment facilities that are usually drained out in the valleys.
In addition, the primary contribution of setting up the new recycled water network for this project is focused on the rate of water utilization for irrigation within Riyadh in which the current 90,000 cubic meters will be maximized up to more than a million cubic meters per day in the future.
“Riyadh”, a name derived from the plural of the Arabic word “rawdah” that translates to a place covered with gardens, meadows, and trees, will live up to its name soon.
With the city going green, together with all its environmental benefits, it will certainly encourage the citizens and residents to follow a healthier lifestyle by choosing to go out for walking, running, or cycling more often.
The Green Riyadh project, a key element towards becoming one of the top 100 cities in the world, awaits attractions not only from visitors but also for potential local and foreign investors.
Photos from https://www.riyadhgreen.sa/en/
