HCDA clears key Riyadh projects worth SR21bn

The High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh (HCDA) has approved investment projects worth SR21 billion in the Saudi capital. 

Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar said during a meeting that the projects showed the confidence among investors, including Kuwaiti and Emirati firms.
He lauded the role of the projects in promoting recreational aspects of the city to the highest specifications and latest designs in the world.
The prince said that investors would get all the necessary information about investment opportunities in Riyadh. They would also see the various plans designed to motivate and encourage investment in the city, he said.
The meeting acknowledged the need to convert Riyadh into a smart city after conducting in-depth studies.
Ibrahim bin Mohammed Sultan, member of the Riyadh Development Authority, discussed the projects that inlcuded commercial and recreational parks and major residential units, five hotels with 1,900 rooms, 850-unit apartment buildings, and five health facilities. 

The projects that expected to create more than 8,000 jobs include UAE’s Majid Al-Futtaim Group project in an area of 866,000 sq. meters in the Daffodils district at a cost of about SR10.5 billion, Riyadh Avenue for a Kuwaiti firm in an area of 388,000 sq. meters at a cost of SR6.5 billion, residential project and integrated public facilities and services in Remal district (east of Riyadh) and another project in Diriyah.
It was agreed during the meeting to set up an authority for the comprehensive outline to realize the concept of smart city, aiming at effective use of information technology in all sectors to provide better services to city residents.
The meeting also adopted the outline of urban design to improve the area around the King Abdullah Financial District in partnership with government and private agencies, with a view to creating an environment for urban areas bordering the King Abdullah Financial District.