# King Salman Park

King Salman Park (KSP; Arabic: حديقة الملك سلمان) one of Riyadh’s mega-projects, is an urban area being developed in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia under the supervision of the King Salman Park Foundation. It was unveiled in 2019 as one of the public initiatives to increase the green space of Riyadh. It is being built on the grounds of former Riyadh Air Base with an area totaling more than 16km$^2$ (6 square miles). it is slated to be one of the largest urban parks in the world upon its opening. The park has lent its name after King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the ruler of Saudi Arabia since 2015.
When completed, it will be one of the largest urban parks in the world, with an area 7 times greater than Hyde Park in London and 5 times Central Park in New York.
Construction contracts for King Salman Park were awarded in 2021.

## Location

The park is located on the site of the old Riyadh Airport (formerly King Salman Air Base) and is characterized by being in the middle of the city, served by five stations on the Green Line of the Riyadh Metro, ten Riyadh bus network stations as well as six main roads. These links make access to the park easy from almost all parts of the city.

## Announcement

On March, 2019, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al- Saud launched the “King Salman Park Project” at the initiative of Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud as one of Riyadh's four mega projects and to contribute to improving the quality of life in the city of Riyadh. Saudi architecture and engineering firm Omrania was named as the lead design consultant on the project, in cooperation with Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects on the master plan.
At an inauguration ceremony on Thursday, March 14, 2019, Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar said, “The planners have skillfully designed the park with small valleys and rocky formations, which resembles the Najd region, thus giving it a natural beauty and distinctiveness from other parks in the city.” Construction began in late 2021 with more than US$1 billion in contracts awarded by the King Salman Park Foundation.

## The King Salman Park Foundation

The King Salman Park Foundation, whose Board of Directors is chaired by Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, supervises the implementation and operation of the park and manages its investments. Through the Park project, the Foundation aims to enhance the quality of life in the city of Riyadh by providing green space for a better, more sustainable environment, in addition to providing cultural, artistic, recreational, and sporting activities.
In December 2022, George Tanasijevich, the former president of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, was appointed CEO of the King Salman Park Foundation, in recognition of his achievements in the management and operation of tourism projects in a number of countries around the world.

## Riyadh’s Four Mega projects

King Salman Park is one of four initiatives launched simultaneously in Riyadh on March 19, 2019, to fulfill the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals, along with Sports Boulevard, Green Riyadh (planting 7.5 million trees), and Riyadh Art (1,000 public art projects). The park will add significant green space to the Saudi capital city, which previously has had less green space per capita than other world cities.
These major projects will also contribute to the creation of sustainable societies and to climate improvement, which will lead to achieving one of the goals of the "Kingdom's Vision 2030" represented in "improving the quality of life of citizens and visitors and transforming the city of Riyadh into an attractive destination, making it one of the most livable cities in the world." These projects will cost an estimated $23 billion in government funding and will also leverage $15 billion worth of private sector development.
The park also supports the goals of the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI). As outlined in the annual SGI forum in October 2021, the initiative seeks to plant millions of trees, restore degraded land, and achieve net carbon emissions.

## Park Elements

The initial plans for the project include the construction of a central park comprising more than 11 km of green space surrounded by an area designated to a collection of cultural, sports, residential, hotel, and commercial facilities.
The park is planned to include more than 160 features and attractions covering art, culture, sport and entertainment.
The park design was awarded the International Architecture Award in the category of Urban Landscape Architecture for the year 2020 by the Chicago Museum of Greek Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and was selected from amongst 6 other Parks. The unusual formations that were expertly designed helped the design win over the other six parks, in addition to the numerous urban facilities which included:

### The Royal Arts Complex

The Complex is built on an area of more than 500,000 square meters. It was designed by the architecture firm Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura with a style and design based on so-called Salmani architectural principle that reflect the depth of the local identity.
The Complex was designed to be an arts and culture hub in the city of Riyadh and contains several cultural, recreational, and artistic facilities, including:
* The Museum of World Cultures - a building 110 meters high.
* The National Theater - with a 2,300 seats capacity.
* The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts - including three academies: the Academy of Traditional Visual Arts, the Academy of Cultural Heritage and Restoration, and the Academy of Performing Arts.
* Sculpture hall.
* Medium capacity theater with 650 seats.
* 3 cinema halls.
* The Dome - a large exhibition hall containing works of art.
* A specialized arts and culture library containing more than 250,000 books.

### Visitor Pavilion

The Visitor Pavilion is an introductory/environmental/cultural center built on an area of 90,000 square meters. Undertaken by the architect, David Adjaye, who relied on Salmani architecture principles for the unique engineering design of this project. The Pavilion facilities include:
* Interactive displays introduce the Park's natural, cultural and recreational elements.
* A plants nursery.
* A spacious balcony with a 360-degree view of the park.
* A main hall suitable for events and entertainment shows, with multiple runways that can accommodate 230 guests.
* A multi-use hall.
* Meeting rooms.
* Exhibition halls.
* Several restaurants and cafes.
There will be 11.6 million square meters of green areas, a "Visitor Pavilion" and a “Royal Art Complex” of museums and theatres. A traffic-free path will form a 7.2-km (4.5 mile) “urban loop” within the park, catering to walking, cycling, and autonomous modes of public transportation. The park landscape will include “valley” pathways up to 30 meters (98 feet) deep, creating shaded areas with trickling streams and a variety of visitor attractions. These branching valleys are said to be inspired by Saudi Arabia's seasonally dry wadi riverbeds, converging toward the centre of the site. According to the "Middle East Architect" magazine, the Park landscapes consist of a network of branching valleys inspired by the shape of the Najd region valleys. They meet in the center and are distributed on the outer edges of the park, creating natural shaded areas.