King Abdullah Financial District

KAFD under-construction as seen from the North West Side of Riyadh City
KAFD under-construction as seen from the North West Side of Riyadh City

The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is a new development under construction near King Fahad Road in the Asahafa area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia[1][2] being undertaken by the Rayadah Investment Corporation[3] on behalf of the Pension Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, consisting of 59 towers in an area of 1.6 million square metres. It will provide more than 3 million square metres 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.[4] Bombardier won a $241m USD contract to build an automated monorail for the development.[5][6] The district is designed to keep it isolated from close contact with the strictly monitored Riyadh society.[7] The design guidelines do not separate the sexes in the district.[7] The KAFD master plan was designed and overseen by Danish Architects Henning Larsen Henning Larsen Architects. The CEO of the development is Waleed Aleisa.[8]

The project is estimated to cost 29 billion Saudi riyals ($7.8 billion).[9]

As of 2016, the development has been considered a failure, with most of the district remaining unleased, and some construction workers abandoning their unfinished work, claiming they hadn't been paid.[10]

References

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