King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD; ) is a mixed-use financial district located in the al-Aqeeq neighbourhood of

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Managed by the King Abdullah Financial District Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kingdom's

Public Investment Fund The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of billion. It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on be ...

. The district was previously being managed by the Rayadah Investment Corporation on behalf of the Pension Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The district is the largest

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

Platinum certified mixed-use business centre in the world.

Structure

KAFD seen from North east side of Riyadh City

The project consists of 95 buildings, including 61 towers, and combines residential solutions, work and entertainment over a space of more than 1.6 million square meters. It will provide more than 3 million square meters of space for various uses, 62,000 parking spaces and accommodation for 12,000 residents. In 2011, it was the largest project in the world seeking green building accreditation. Bombardier won a $241m contract to build an automated

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

for the development.Saudi Urban Projects Are a Window to Modernity
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 12, 2010. The design guidelines do not separate the genders in the district. The KAFD master plan was designed and overseen by Danish architectural firm

Henning Larsen Architects Henning Larsen Architects is an international architectural firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1959 by Henning Larsen, it has around 750 employees. In 2008, it opened an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and in 2011, an office in Munich ...

. International architecture firms such as HOK, Omrania, SOM, CallisonRTKL, Gensler, and

Foster + Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the design ...

were commissioned to design individual buildings in the district, such as the 380-meter PIF Tower (HOK and Omrania). Additional design work was provided by W Architecture & Landscape Architecture. The CEO of the company, KAFD DMC, i
Gautam Sashittal
The project was at one point estimated to cost 29 billion Saudi riyals ($7.8 billion). Upon completion, KAFD is expected to host around 50,000 residents. As Riyadh is characterized by its high temperature, a solar system will be installed to cool the passenger bridges that will act as a network that connects 30 buildings together. The project is considered to be long overdue and needed for a city of the size and position of Riyadh. The key issue with the project was timing as it was announced and incepted during the 2008 financial crisis. A number of local and international commentators highlighted the potential oversupply issue with the project. However, others, such as Hans Mueller in Saudi Real Estate Companion, believe that the market will be able to absorb the supply in the medium term. The first phase was expected to open by July 2017.

Transport

The district is served by the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station of

Riyadh Metro The Riyadh Metro (, ) is a rapid transit, rapid transit system serving Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Part of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport, it is the longest driverless metro in the world. The system consists of s ...

. The station covers an area of 45,000 m² and is located at the east of the Northern Ring Road. It is connected to metro lines 1, 4, 6, and will be served by KAFD monorail in the future. The station is designed by

Zaha Hadid Architects Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in Clerkenwell, London. After the death of " starchitect" Hadid, Patrik Schumacher became head of the firm. At ...

and is one of four major stations on the metro network. Within the area there will also be a , six station monorail system. In addition all buildings will be linked by an air-conditioned skywalk system enabling pedestrian access across the entire development.

In popular culture

KAFD was featured as part of the skyline of

in the 2022 Saudi Arabian action thriller film ''Route 10''.

External links

Official Website

References

{{coord missing, Saudi Arabia Year of establishment missing Buildings and structures in Riyadh Geography of Riyadh Economy of Riyadh Finance in Saudi Arabia Proposed infrastructure in Saudi Arabia Financial districts

Structure

Transport

In popular culture

See also

External links

References