King Abdullah Financial District

The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is a new development under construction near King Fahad Road in Al Aqeeq area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia being undertaken by the Rayadah Investment Corporation 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.Bombardier won a $241m USD contract to build an automated monorail for the development. The design guidelines do not separate the sexes in the district. The KAFD master plan was designed and overseen by Danish Architects Henning Larsen Henning Larsen Architects. Additional design work was provided by W Architecture and Landscape Architecture.The CEO of the development is Waleed Aleisa. The project is estimated to cost 29 billion Saudi riyals ($7.8 billion).

The project is considered to be long over due 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 over supply 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.

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