World's largest covered facility for plant life RIYADH – Work on the second phase of the King Abdullah International Gardens in Riyadh is scheduled to begin after Ramadan this year following the completion of the first stage of what is deemed one of largest environment projects in the world. “This is the most important environmental project in the world,” said Deputy Mayor for Services Ibrahim Al-Dujain. “It has received huge press coverage across the globe as an awareness project helping to preserve the planet as well as plant life in the Middle East, a region particularly vulnerable to environmental decay.” Work on the botanical gardens, situated on desert land in the west of the capital, is currently under way to provide ventilation, humidification facilities and earth suitable for the plants that are to be brought in from all over the world. “The second phase will begin after Ramadan this year, and the whole project will be completed within approximately 30 months,” Al-Dujain said. Set to be the largest covered facility of its kind in the world, the gardens will use recycled water and alternative energy supplies, exploiting solar and wind power as well as rainfall through collection tanks to host plant life that has proliferated over the epochs in the Arabian Peninsula and reflect changes in the climate and environment. The project will be divided into six main sections: the Plants Gardens; the Valley Gardens; the Scientific Gardens; the Water Gardens; the International Gardens, and the Nature Gardens. Covering an area of two million square meters and costing over SR1 billion, the King Abdullah International Gardens are scheduled to open in 2013.
