The Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) has announced a significant milestone with the completion of the Western Ring Road diversion, which paves the way for all future progress on the giga-project.
After 63 days of accelerated construction, the major development saw the DGDA relocate three kilometres of the eight-lane highway without a single road closure or disruption.
As part of Saudi’s Vision 2030, seven square kilometres of Diriyah, just 15 minutes north-west of Riyadh city centre, is being transformed into one of the kingdom’s most prominent tourist destinations, as well as a hub for culture and heritage, hospitality, retail and education.
The infrastructure and development giga-project has a SR190 billion ($50.6 billion) investment pipeline. In 2022, the authority said it will have approximately SR23 billion on the table for development projects.
Jonathan Timms, president of Diriyah Development Company said: “The completion of this critical project now enables the commencement of construction of the project’s complex underground tunnel network and parking basements, which will seamlessly redirect traffic underground, enabling the realisation of Diriyah’s vision to be an authentic, pedestrianised, mud city in the historical Nadji style.
“We are especially pleased with the speed at which this project was completed, whilst ensuring no disruption to the community. We congratulate our Riyadh based construction partner Al Omaier, who have proved to be the absolute right choice to deliver this time critical project,” he added.
Upon completion, Diriyah will sit above an underground network of arterial roads and 25,000 parking spaces across three levels.
It is expected that between 16,000 and 19,000 cars per hour will pass through the tunnel system.
DGDA’s Group CEO Jerry Inzerillo (pictured below) said that Diriyah was unique among giga-projects in that it was being constructed in a living, working community that already existed in the area.
“I am delighted to report the completion of the Western Ring Road diversion that supports our efforts in delivering upon our Diriyah vision which will be the largest cultural and heritage city,” he said.
DGDA was established in July 2017 to preserve Diriyah’s history, celebrate its community and develop the historic UNESCO World Heritage site of At-Turaif into one of the world’s greatest gathering places.
Diriyah Development Company is a subsidiary entity within DGDA which is responsible for the design, development and delivery aspects of the project and was set up earlier this year as part of the authority’s growth acceleration plans.
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