Riyadh’s road network gets a $3.5bn upgrade

Unsplash.com/Jamar Penny

The first phase of plans to upgrade Riyadh’s road infrastructure has begun.

The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has awarded four contracts worth SAR13 billion ($3.5 billion) to develop the road network in the Saudi capital, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

The projects are part of the plan announced in 2020 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also the chairman of RCRC, to upgrade the transportation network and transform Riyadh into one of the world’s major cities in line with Vision 2030 objectives.

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The first phase includes the construction of a 56-km second southern ring road by building 10 main intersections and 32 bridges; building of two bridges parallel to the Wadi Laban suspension bridge; developing the western part of Al-Thumama road by six kilometres and extending the Taif road in the Laban district by 16 kilometres to the Qiddiya project.

The first phase is expected to be completed in three to four years. The subsequent phases will be announced in due course.

Saudi Arabia will host the World Expo 2030 in Riyadh. An $8 billion budget has been set to develop the World Expo site, located on a six million square metre site north of Riyadh, which is expected to attract 40 million visitors over the year. 

The country will host the Asian Winter Games in 2029 at a mountain resort in Neom – a city in the north-west of the country – and the 2034 football World Cup. 

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The kingdom launched a mega economic reform programme in 2016 to diversify its economy away from oil, attracting foreign investment for giga-projects valued at more than $1.25 trillion.

Riyadh is still seen as one of the world’s fastest-growing cities by 2033, UK realtor Savills said in July. 

“Riyadh is the only city in the top 15 global growth hubs not located in Asia,” world research analyst Charlotte Rushton told AGBI.

She said that population increase is integral to Saudi’s economic goals and is expected to result in continued government spending on mega infrastructure projects.