Diriyah, located just 20 minutes northwest of Riyadh’s city centre, is being transformed into one of the world’s leading lifestyle destinations for culture and heritage, hospitality, retail and education. And with the international community increasingly turning its attention to a sustainable future, Saudi Arabia is seen to be taking the lead in restoring a historic city into a world-renowned ecological landmark.
The Kingdom has left no stone unturned in its quest for the Diriyah Gate Development Project to become a global tourism destination, as envisioned in its Vision 2030 blueprint, and it is currently working nonstop to develop an environmental strategy that strikes the perfect balance between tourism and the city’s rich history.
One aspect of this is that the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) is working to create a specialized ecotourism region to the south of the city, which will include the Barari Diriyah Wildlife Conservation Center and the Palm Heritage Center for Research and Development.
Sustainable Construction Materials
The DGDA and the Oil Sustainability Program (OSP) recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to encourage the use of sustainable polymer construction materials in the project. The OSP, which is being overseen by the Ministry of Energy, ensures that hydrocarbons are used as efficiently and sustainably as possible in the global energy mix.
As part of the MoU, DGDA will restore and rehabilitate the historic city by employing traditional Najdi architecture principles that have given the Kingdom’s central region its distinct long-held identity.
Another intriguing component of the initiative is that it has prioritized people in its development. With this in mind, it also intends to raise public awareness concerning the need for environmental protection and maximizing the economic return from the city, which will soon become a major tourist destination.
A DGDA spokesperson explained: “We at Diriyah are within the intersection of multiple issues, contemplating innovative yet practical ways to create the right solutions. Some of these issues deal with environmental sustainability, and others relate to maximizing the economic return from cities as tourist destinations.
Working nonstop to develop an environmental strategy that strikes the perfect balance between tourism and the city’s rich history
“Other issues concern how to raise awareness of people’s ecological conduct and impact, including administering legislation – both existing and desired – that governs, or should govern, human environmental conduct based on sustainable objectives, requirements, and standards.”
According to the DGDA, once completed, the project is expected to draw over seven million tourists per year, which is in keeping with Vision 2030’s goals of creating a sustainable economy, a vibrant environment, and a bustling community inside the Kingdom.
The DGDP is historically and culturally significant because the Turaif area was Saudi Arabia’s first capital.
Saudi Construction Companies Win Contracts
Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of DGDA, speaking at the Future Hospitality Summit, stated that women make up 36% of the project’s workforce, with the management sector alone employing 16% of women. He further revealed that the Diriyah Gate Project’s workforce is made up of 40% Diriyah residents.
After completion, the project will have 20,000 residential units, and the contracts to build these have been handed to Saudi construction companies.
The DGDA has also recently partnered with the international luxury hospitality chain Four Seasons to construct a new hotel on the site. There will be 150 rooms and suites, as well as large meeting and event spaces, a wellness spa, and a fitness facility inside the hotel. The hotel will be positioned next to Diriyah’s culturally important district along the Wadi Hanifah escarpment, with breathtaking views of At-Turaif, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“When people start putting the pictures up of every place they’ve been, people will say, ‘where is that?’ People collect pictures of themselves in front of great icons of the world – the Acropolis, Eiffel Tower – and now they need a picture in front of Diriyah,” said Inzerillo.
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