Riyadh - Saudi Arabia announced plans for a new downtown district, the New Murabba, in Riyadh. The project will create the largest of its kind in the world. The centerpiece of the new district will be the Mukaab, a 400-meter-tall, 400-meter-wide cube city that will be capable of holding 20 Empire State Buildings.
The Mukaab will form part of the wider New Murabba project, which aims to transform a 19-square-kilometer area to the northwest of Riyadh into a mixed-use district with residential, commercial, retail, cultural, and tourist facilities. In Arabic, "murabba" means "square" or "square-shaped." It is a common word used in many contexts, such as in mathematics, geometry, architecture, and urban planning.
The New Murabba project will feature 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, 980,000 square meters of retail space, and 1.4 million square meters of office space. There will also be 1.8 million square meters of space dedicated to community facilities.
The developers of the project say that it will create more than 350,000 jobs, making it a significant driver of economic growth in the region. The New Murabba project is also designed to be a model for sustainable urban development, with green areas and walking and cycle paths designed to promote healthy lifestyles.
The Mukaab will be based on the modern Najdi architectural style, with a futuristic twist. It will offer "ever-changing environments" using digital and virtual technology to create holographic displays that interact with the surrounding urban landscape. The building will also include recreational facilities as well as hotels and residential units.
The entire New Murabba project is scheduled for completion by 2030, with the Mukaab due to be finished several years earlier. The project is part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its economy away from its reliance on oil and gas exports, and to position itself as a leader in the fields of technology, innovation, and sustainable development.
The New Murabba project is likely to set a new benchmark for large-scale urban development projects around the world.