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Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - RIYADH: Green Riyadh, a major initiative under Riyadh’s megaprojects, has announced the start of construction on three large-scale parks in the city, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

Spanning more than 550,000 square meters, the parks are in the districts of Al-Munsiyah, Al-Rimal, and Al-Qadisiyah.

The Green Riyadh project, launched by King Salman in 2019 on the initiative of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aims to enhance the quality of life for Riyadh’s residents and visitors by providing ample recreational spaces.

It also seeks to increase the per capita green space by 16 times its current level and transform Riyadh into one of the world’s most sustainable cities.

The project contributes significantly to achieving the targets of the Saudi Green Initiative and Vision 2030, which include planting 10 billion trees in the Kingdom.

Green Riyadh plans to plant 7.5 million trees in the city, increase the green cover to 9 percent of its total area, and raise the per capita green space from 1.7 to 28 square meters. These efforts will help to reduce temperatures and improve air quality by mitigating pollution and dust, SPA reported.

The three major parks in eastern Riyadh seamlessly integrate with the natural landscape of Wadi Sulay, which runs through the area. The parks are also connected to the sports track via tree-lined pedestrian walkways.

Green spaces account for 65 percent of the total park area, with more than 585,000 trees and shrubs to be planted.

The parks feature a wide array of amenities, including 18 km of walking trails, 8 km of running tracks, 8.5 km of bicycle paths, and 22 innovative children’s play areas designed to promote environmental awareness.

Green amphitheaters, plazas, open-air theaters, sports facilities for various age groups, and water features will further enhance the visitor experience and positively affect the surrounding environment.

In addition to the major parks, Green Riyadh is working on several other initiatives in the city. These include greening residential neighborhoods, constructing neighborhood parks, planting trees along internal streets, creating tree-lined sidewalks and pedestrian walkways, and landscaping mosques, schools and parking lots.

The project involves planting trees in valleys, main roads, squares, and government and public buildings such as ministries, authorities, universities and cultural centers.

To support these plans, Green Riyadh is developing 1,350 km of irrigation networks across the city. The project’s nurseries are producing 3 million trees, shrubs and other ground cover annually to meet landscaping requirements.