Five Decades of Comprehensive Development
From the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, may God rest his soul, and the designation of Riyadh as its capital, the city set out on a journey of comprehensive development and growth. Under the patronage of the Kingdom’s successive monarchs, the capital has achieved unprecedented leaps in growth and prosperity within a few short decades, covering ground that the world’s other great cities and capitals took centuries to traverse.
In this flourishing era, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may God protect him, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, may God protect him, Riyadh continues its journey toward new horizons of leadership and the standing among world cities that befits the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The city has been favored with the wise leadership of its foremost architect and the patron of its renaissance, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who steered its advancement with skill and assurance over several decades as Governor of Riyadh Region and Chairman of the Commission. He set Riyadh on a new course of comprehensive, directed planning grounded in the modern science of developing major cities, and among the fruits of what he planted was the founding of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City itself.
I cannot imagine myself apart from Riyadh, even when I am not in the city. For me, Riyadh is homeland and history — past, present, future, and hope.
This page offers a brief account of the Commission’s journey and a record of its most significant achievements in the city, accomplished through the dedication of its leaders and the hands of its qualified national workforce.
A Capital Racing Against Time
In the middle of the last Hijri century, Riyadh was a city of no more than one hundred thousand people. Economic revival and internal migration then drove it into rapid growth that reached exceptional rates in some years, until it became one of the largest construction sites in the world. Today its population exceeds seven and a half million.
(1350 – 1375 AH)
In the face of such expansion, the capital’s development could no longer be managed through scattered efforts divided among many bodies. The growth was too fast for piecemeal remedies to keep pace with, and too deep for short-term fixes to answer. From this arose the need for a single reference authority to set policy, unify effort, and see the city as an integrated whole rather than a collection of separate projects.
Establishing the Commission
In June 1974 (Jumada al-Ula 1394 AH), the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh was established as the capital’s highest planning reference. It was charged with setting general development policy, approving comprehensive master plans and service programs together with their requirements, and providing a common foundation from which the work of every body operating in the city could proceed. In 1983 (1403 AH), the Projects and Plans Center was created as the Commission’s executive arm, strengthening its capacity for direct supervision and technical oversight of development work.
Stages in the Commission’s Evolution
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1974 (1394 AH)
Establishment of the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh
The High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh — today the Royal Commission for Riyadh City — was established by Council of Ministers Decision No. 717 dated 29 Jumada al-Ula 1394 AH, corresponding to 19 June 1974. Its mandate was to set high-level policy for the development of Riyadh; to approve the city’s comprehensive master plan and the timelines for its implementation; to approve development plans, service programs and their financial requirements; to approve street widths and public facility areas; and to carry out the other duties assigned to it.
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1983 (1403 AH)
Creation of the Projects and Plans Center
Council of Ministers Resolution No. 221 dated 2 Ramadan 1403 AH, corresponding to 13 June 1983, merged the offices of the Diplomatic Quarter project and the Qasr Al-Hukm District development project into a single body, later named the "Projects and Plans Center." It served as the executive, administrative and technical arm of the Commission at the time, carrying out its regulatory, planning, executive and coordinating functions with the administrative and technical resources available to it.
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2018 (1439 AH)
The Development of Provinces and Cities Law
The "Development of Provinces and Cities Law" was issued by Council of Ministers Decision No. 475 dated 7 Ramadan 1439 AH, corresponding to 23 May 2018. It stipulated that the development commissions for provinces and cities — among them the "Riyadh Development Commission" — hold legal personality with financial and administrative independence, and report directly to the Prime Minister.
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2019 (1440 AH)
Transformation into the Royal Commission for Riyadh City
Royal Decree No. "A/470" dated 29 Dhu al-Hijjah 1440 AH, corresponding to 30 August 2019, transformed the "Riyadh Development Commission" into a royal commission under the name "Royal Commission for Riyadh City." Under the Decree, the Commission has a Board of Directors chaired by the Prime Minister, with its members appointed by order of the Prime Minister, and all responsibilities relating to Riyadh’s national megaprojects were transferred to it from the "Committee of National Megaprojects."
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2019 (1441 AH)
Regulatory Arrangements of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City
Royal Decree No. "A/312" dated 29 Rabi’ al-Thani 1441 AH, corresponding to 26 December 2019, approved the "Regulatory Arrangements of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City." It stipulated that "the Royal Commission for Riyadh City is a body with public legal personality and financial and administrative independence, reporting directly to the Prime Minister," and that it holds "the supreme authority over all works, services and projects delivered within the geographic scope, and may undertake whatever is necessary to achieve its objectives."
Firm Foundations That Shaped the Capital
From its establishment, the Commission was chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, then Governor of Riyadh Region, and his chairmanship continued until 2011 (1432 AH), supported by his deputy, His Royal Highness Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, may God rest his soul. This period laid the foundation on which the modern renaissance of Riyadh was built.
He set the capital on a course of comprehensive, directed planning grounded in the modern science of developing major cities. The city’s first master plan was issued, and in 2003 (1424 AH) the Commission approved the Comprehensive Strategic Plan for Riyadh (MEDSTAR), carrying a vision that extends fifty years ahead. It moved the city from a single-center pattern to a multi-center one, and guided its urban, economic and environmental growth within a single regulatory framework.
Under this vision came a succession of projects that changed the face of the capital:
Diplomatic Quarter
A model of an integrated community attuned to its desert setting and architectural identity.
Qasr Al-Hukm District Development
Restored the standing and symbolism of Riyadh’s historic heart.
King Abdulaziz Historical Center
A cultural oasis at the center of the city.
Historic Addir’iyah Development
A revival of the first Saudi capital.
Environmental Rehabilitation of Wadi Hanifa
Returning the valley as a natural corridor running through the city from north to south.
The Commission went on to update the Comprehensive Strategic Plan in step with projected growth rates, continued its road development projects across the capital, and began implementing the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport as its largest undertaking, alongside completing the development programs for Historic Addir’iyah and Qasr Al-Hukm District and the rehabilitation of Wadi Hanifa. A number of the Commission’s projects have won international awards in architecture, planning and urban environmental management from the world’s most distinguished institutions.
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King Salman bin Abdulaziz, then Governor of Riyadh, visiting the Diplomatic Quarter in 1986 (1406 AH). -
King Salman bin Abdulaziz, then Governor of Riyadh, touring At-Turaif District in Historic Addir’iyah in 1987 (1407 AH). -
Laying the foundation stone for the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in 1997 (1418 AH). -
Opening of the General Court building in Qasr Al-Hukm District in 2000 (1421 AH). -
Opening of Salam Park in 2004 (1424 AH). -
Opening of Al-Medi Mosque at the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in 2004 (1425 AH). -
Opening of Souq Al-Zal in Qasr Al-Hukm District following its redevelopment in 2005 (1426 AH). -
Opening of the Wadi Hanifa Environmental Rehabilitation Project in 2010 (1431 AH).
Successive Leadership, One Continuous Journey
After the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, a number of His Royal Highnesses the Princes chaired the Commission in turn, reinforcing the principle of institutional practice guided by comprehensive development and long-range strategic planning, and the conviction that what is built in one phase is carried forward without interruption in the next.
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The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz
Deputy: His Royal Highness Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, may God rest his soul
1974 – 2011 (1394 – 1432 AH) -
His Royal Highness Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, may God rest his soul
Deputy: His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Saad bin Abdulaziz
2011 – 2013 (1432 – 1434 AH) -
His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz
Deputy: His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
2013 – 2014 (1434 – 1435 AH) -
His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
2014 – 2015 (1435 – 1436 AH) -
His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz
Deputy: His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz
2015 – 2019 (1436 – 1440 AH) -
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz
2019 (1440 AH) – Present
Riyadh Among the World’s Leading Cities
In 2019 (1440 AH), the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz launched four megaprojects, on the initiative of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, that redrew the character of the capital. In them, nature, art, sport and sustainability come together in a single urban fabric that raises quality of life in the city within the targets of Saudi Vision 2030.
King Salman Park
Nature at the heart of the capital.
Sports Boulevard
Sport as a daily way of life.
Riyadh Art
Art in the public realm.
Green Riyadh
Sustainability woven into the city.
Under the leadership of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Chairman of the Commission’s Board of Directors, Riyadh entered a new order of ambition, as His Royal Highness set the compass of the work toward a bold national goal:
For Riyadh to rank among the largest city economies in the world by 2030, by doubling the size of its economy, raising its quality of life, and attracting high-value investment and the regional headquarters of global companies.
A succession of major initiatives followed, reshaping the economic and urban landscape of the capital:
Riyadh Sustainability Strategy
Cutting emissions, using resources wisely, and expanding the green economy.
Main & Ring Road Axes Development Program
Reshaping the capital’s mobility network across a series of successive phases.
Completion and Operation of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport
Now complete and in service, giving the city an integrated transport network that ranks among the largest urban transit systems in the world.
Regional Headquarters (RHQ) Program
Delivered under the Commission’s supervision in partnership with the relevant authorities, as Riyadh has grown into the leading destination for the regional headquarters of global companies.
This eventful journey was crowned by Riyadh winning the right to host World Expo 2030, in international recognition of the capital’s standing and its readiness to welcome the world.
A Constant Approach, an Integrated Vision
Across all these phases, the character of the Commission’s work has remained constant:
Long-Range Planning
Anticipating growth rather than chasing it.
Institutional Practice
Unifying the efforts of many bodies on common ground.
Balancing Heritage and Modernity
Letting the city grow without losing its identity.
Sustainability
The foundation of everything planned and delivered.
Looking Ahead
What Riyadh is living today is less a new beginning than the harvest of more than five decades of planting. The founding phase established the principles of planning and institutional practice; the phases that followed sustained the continuity of building and delivery; and the transformation into the Royal Commission for Riyadh City brought the Commission broader powers and greater ambition in its targets.
The Royal Commission for Riyadh City continues on its path, drawing method from its legacy and momentum from its present, so that Riyadh remains a capital worthy of the standing of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a model to be followed in the development of great cities.