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Riyadh signs off billions to improve road safety

By Andrew Hammond
Traffic in central Riyadh. The capital's roads are being improved in time for the 2030 World Expo Alamy/Hasan Zaidi via Reuters
Traffic in central Riyadh. The capital's roads are being improved in time for the 2030 World Expo
  • Contracts signed worth $1.6bn
  • Five-year plan for capital’s roads
  • Traffic fatalities above world average

Riyadh municipality has signed five contracts worth SAR6 billion ($1.6 billion) to improve roads in the Saudi capital, where traffic accidents are above the global average. 

The contracts entail rehabilitating and asphalting 83 million square metres of road network over five years, in time for Riyadh’s hosting of the 2030 World Expo, which will bring international attention to the city. 

“These upgrades will improve road quality, ensure safe mobility and bring the city’s infrastructure up to international standards,” an official statement said. 

Last month the Royal Commission for Riyadh City awarded four contracts worth SAR13 billion ($3.5 billion) to develop the road network in the city of seven million. 

Saudi Arabia has been trying to reduce traffic accidents nationally. Fatalities fell from 28.8 per 100,000 people in 2016 to 18.5 in 2021, but this is still almost 25 percent above the global average of 15, a recent World Health Organization report said. 

The government said last month that Riyadh’s delayed metro system will officially open later this year, in a further effort to improve the city’s crippling traffic congestion. 

A project for driverless cars could also result in government agencies using automated vehiclers as early as next year. 

Riyadh is at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s economic development plans as the host of three giga-projects: the historical district of Diriyah, the new downtown area of New Murabba and the sports and entertainment city Qiddiya. 

The city is expected to expand to more than nine million people by 2030, through rural migration and rising numbers of expatriates working on the different development projects.

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