Work on the first phase of the Sports Boulevard in Riyadh, the world's longest linear park, is in full swing with several key milestones having been achieved including excavation of more than 250,000 cu m of soil; earth workd and pouring of 11,000 cu m of reinforced concrete.

Sports Boulevard is one of the four mega projects launched by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz in 2019. An innovative destination, it will contribute to fulfilling a key goal of Saudi Vision 2030 to promote Riyadh’s position among the world’s most livable cities.

Sports Boulevard includes 4.4 million sq m of greenery and open spaces, and up to 50 multidisciplinary sports facilities and artistic landmarks.

Running 135 km long, Sports Boulevard will create a modern oasis in the capital city and with a range of healthy lifestyle options being offered, the residents will be spoilt for choice, said its top official.

"We’re making great progress on this fantastic project where there is something for everyone. Walk, run, cycle or ride or take part in one of the +50 available sports or simply enjoy a stroll in the park," stated Jayne McGivern, the CEO of Sports Boulevard Foundation in a video on its social media.

The premium lifestyle destination will attract pedestrians, professional and amateur cyclists, and horse riders, alongside art and culture enthusiasts and eco-friends, altogether, on paths and spaces that create a healthy lifestyle, she stated.

The project scope includes implementation of infrastructure works with modern amenities - cycling paths, stations, horse riding paths and buildings, landscapes and pedestrian path ways, she added.

Phase One consists of four main districts of which the first one, Wadi Hanifah is spread over a 22-km area and has several key features including a cycling bridge running 900 m long through Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Road as well as a 1.5-km-long promenade.

On its key achievements, Engineer Mohammed Al Qahtani, the head of Projects Department, said the most challenging work for the team in the first phase was the excavation of more than 250,000 cu m of soil - including 30,000 cu m for concrete base works.

"Also around 125,000 cu m of soil was removed for setting up the Prince Turki Bin Abdulazzi Al Awwal tunnel in addition to extension of 28 km of services," he stated.

"Another big challenge for us was to complete the pouring of 11,000 cu m of reinforced concrete for the project.

"The scale of the work can be easily gauged by the fact that the volume of the concrete is enough to fill nearly four Olympic-sized swimming pools," he explained.

On the bicycle bridge, Al Qahtani said it is a massive project with 33 concrete cycling-bridge columns being built using 570 tonnes of reinforcing steel.

According to him, the preparation for the natural earth layer in Wadi Hanifah has begun and so has the formwork for the cycle and pedestrian lanes running 400 linear metres long.

Work is already under way on the metal structures for bicycle bridge as well as implementation of 203 concrete bases, he stated.

In co-operation with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the Sports Boulevard Foundation has started converting the EHV and HV overheadl transmission lines into underground cabling which will run 28 km long on Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Road.

Three new transmission substations will be built for the project to cater to the power needs of the residents while two others will be expanded, he added.

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