As part of the “Green Riyadh” program, 1,350 km of water pipes are being laid to carry 1.7 million cubic meters of treated water daily to irrigate 7.5 million trees in Riyadh. The aim is to achieve sustainable green spaces for the Green Riyadh projects and other development projects in the city.
The diameter of the primary pipes ranges from 1.2 to 2.4 meters; secondary networks reach all Riyadh neighbourhoods. Construction has begun using the latest technologies and practices to speed up work without affecting traffic in the city.
Among the technologies adopted is control and monitoring of the water networks remotely. One of the main enablers to achieve a Green Riyadh is building water networks based on the principle of sustainability by using 100% treated water for irrigation, attesting to the program’s commitment to using renewable resources.
A technical team composed of experts from government entities and the private sector has been formed with the aim of expediting work coordination, overcoming obstacles, addressing issues related to the installation of water networks for irrigation, as well as of sharing programs and plans among the authorities concerned with public utilities, in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, the Saudi Irrigation Organization, and the National Water Company.
The water networks laid out as part of the Green Riyadh project will serve many megaprojects in the city, such as the Public Investment Fund, the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, the King Salman Park, the Sports Boulevard, and the King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project.
The Green Riyadh program is one of Riyadh’s four megaprojects launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as an initiative of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. Its goal is to plant more than 7.5 million trees in Riyadh city, increasing the green coverage of Riyadh to 9.1%, and increase the per capita share of green spaces from 1.7 m2 to 28 m2, 16 times its current level. It also aims to improve the urban environment of the city of Riyadh through the greening residential neighbourhoods, thus helping achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative of planting 10 billion trees nationwide in the coming decades.—APP
