RIYADH — The 6th phase of the Green Riyadh will take place on Thursday. The program will plant 46,000 trees and shrubs in Al Ghadir neighborhood. This will include conducting 7 parks, afforestation of 4 schools, as well as 28 kilometers of streets and corridors, and a health facility, in addition to 4 vacant lands. Moreover, the afforestation in the residential neighborhoods will be accompanied by conducting events that aim in educating the neighborhood residents about the start of afforestation in their neighborhood. This is in addition to an exhibition to introduce residents to all aspects of the project and its future vision, its stages and duration, as well as the accompanying works. The event in Al Ghadir neighborhood, which is scheduled to start during the period between Aug. 24 – Sept. 2, 2023, will set a future vision for the neighborhood, so residents can see their neighborhood after the completion of afforestation. It is noteworthy that the Green Riyadh project aims to plant 7.5 million trees, establishing a 100% treated water network, increasing the vegetation cover to 9% from Riyadh's area. It also aims to increase the per capita green space from 1.7 square meters to 28 square meters, equivalent to 16 times. The program aspires to conduct the afforestation work in 120 residential neighborhoods in Riyadh by 2030. Several designs for the afforestation work were set based on international standards while taking into account the local environment. These include conducting the parks of the residential neighborhoods, afforestation of schools, mosques, streets, corridors, parking lots, vacant lands, and government buildings. The works of Green Riyadh in its 5 phases included the neighborhoods of Al-Naseem, Al Aziziyah, Al Jazirah, Al-Uraija, Qurtubah. There were 241,000 trees and shrubs, 97 parks, as well as the afforestation of 33 schools, 83 mosques, 37 parking lots, 66 kilometers from streets and corridors in Al-Naseem neighborhood. As for the Aziziyah neighborhood, there are 623,000 trees and shrubs, 54 parks, as well as the afforestation of 61 schools, 121 mosques, 78 parking lots, 176 kilometers from streets and corridors. While there were 39,000 trees and shrubs planted in Al Jazirah neighborhood, 11 parks, as well as the afforestation of 37 schools, 14 mosques, 36 kilometers from streets and corridors. There were 110,000 trees and shrubs planted in Al-Uraija neighborhood, 30 parks, as well as the afforestation of 19 schools, 46 mosques, 70 parking lots, 37 kilometers from streets and corridors. As for the Qurtubah neighborhood, there are 92,000 trees and shrubs, 34 parks, as well as the afforestation of 4 schools, 56 mosques, 9 parking lots, 44 kilometers from streets and corridors, as well as the afforestation of 8 government buildings and 18 of vacant lands. The Green Riyadh Program, one of the four major Riyadh projects to achieve the goals of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, comes to raise the classification of Riyadh among its counterparts in the cities of the world. It also hopes to make it one of the best cities for living by raising the economic value, increasing investment opportunities, and stimulating the participation of the private sector. The program also will contribute in improving the quality of life through establishing open areas, encouraging outdoor activities to improve public health, and enhancing walking, outdoor activities, sports, and others.
