Riyadh Regional Plan leverages potentials of the Region’s Provinces
Riyadh Regional Plan was developed by the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh, in coordination with the Region’s Council and in cooperation with many public and private bodies, to address various development issues in Riyadh Region based on a futuristic vision. Actually, the Regional Plan is a long-term plan aiming to achieve integration among provinces and centers of Riyadh Region and promote balanced development and distribution of population and services. The Regional Plan also seeks to integrate the national plans regionally and locally.
The Region’s Development Axes
The futuristic vision underlying the Regional Plan focuses on transforming the Region into a multifunctional economic zone, an investment magnet, and a home for geographically and demographically balanced development. Moreover, this vision promoted cooperation and coordination among public/private actors working in the Region.
Urban development strategy is tailored to achieve decentralized and balanced development outlined in the National Urban Strategy. Therefore, the Regional Plan selected clusters of development centers to be transformed into regional planning clusters with variant population sizes. Each development cluster stretches over a number of provinces in Riyadh Region to achieve balanced development, diversity of resources and better efficiency of the Region’s provinces.
Development of the Region’s road network
Regional Plan targets improving significant sections of the existing road network, and establishing a network of the main regional roads to connect different areas of the Region and reroute traffic outside the central population gatherings including the city of Riyadh. Additionally, the plan recommended establishment of regional roads linking the Region’s development centers, and the Region itself with the neighboring regions.
The official railway network (North-South & East-West) would be utilized via new stations to serve cargos and passengers from the development centers along the network.
Given the relatively large distance between development centers, the existing network of civil aviation will be boosted with new regional airports to connect the Southeastern and the Northern Clusters.
Moving the major projects outside the capital
Riyadh Regional Plan seeks to list all the future activities and major projects that can be moved or relocated outside the city of Riyadh towards the Region’s provinces according to their relative potentials.
Exemplary projects typifying this approach are the recent inaugurations of three new universities: Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University in Kharj, Majmaah University, and Shaqra University. These universities has different colleges and teaching hospitals.
Regional economic programs
Riyadh Economic Development Strategy seeks to improve the competitiveness of the region, create employment opportunities, and achieve balanced development.
Based on analysis of the targeted growth in the economic sectors, it is expected to create about 99,000 new jobs by 1445H, 60% of which are provided by the private sector.
The region’s economic strategy focuses on achieving an effective partnership between private and public sectors to create an enabling environment for increased private investments outside Riyadh City. This partnership between the public and private sectors would be achieved through regional programs in three fields: Production environment, employment, and regional infrastructure.
Development of the Region’s industrial sector
In this context, two industrial cities are underway in Sudair (over 257 km2) and Kharj (over 100 km2). Establishment of similar industrial cities in other provinces are currently under study, in addition to hundreds of ongoing projects in the region in all sectors.