King Abdullah Financial District: get to know the main features

King Abdullah Financial District (KAFC) is a new $7.8bn urban location that will put Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the financial map. The center will stand as a common ground business and finance field in the Middle East. It’s located North Riyadh on land owned by Public Pension Agency and extends for 1.6 million square meters.

The center will include the elite of young professionals in all finance fields. It will include also venues for the world most renowned companies in addition to Saudi institutions and governmental bodies. That’s why King Abdullah Financial District is awaited to be an economics and finance studies hub where plans are strategies are set for KSA and the whole Arab Peninsula.

We will display a number of the most remarkable features of King Abdullah Financial District:

Location:

It lies on the extension of King Abdullah highway. It’s bordered to the east by King Fahd road, to the south by the northern ring road, and to western and northern sides by the specialized road.

Construction phases:

Construction started on the project in 2007, the King Abdullah FInancial District comprises 59 Skyscrapers erected around the area.

King Abdullah announced on the project inauguration that it will be the first of its kind in the Middle East. The project construction took place on a number of phases; the first phase included the establishment of 16 towers, hotel, and a mosque stretching on a space of 592.555 square meters.

The second phase consisted of 44 towers between office, commercial, and residential towers scattered around 30 land plots.

The third phase was about laying down the project’s infrastructure including finalizing facilities attachment to the center units, in addition to paving inner and outer roads to facilitate traffic and transportation in and out of the center. The project cumulative construction cost reached 30 billion SAR.

Building architecture:

The building architecture of King Abdullah Financial District relied on the highest international standards of design and architecture. The building theme was designed to mingle between the traditional local building trends and the latest international fashion.

Movement and transportation:

Mobility around King Abdullah Financial District is facilitated through an inner monorail enabling easy transportation and offers its passengers the chance to view the center’s architecture and designs brilliance.

Pedestrians are able to move about King Abdullah Financial District and shift from a tower to another using hanged air-conditioned tubes. The tubes cumulative length is estimated at about 11,400 meters.

KAFD will have also a special metro station that lies as a part of King Abdulaziz General Transportation Project in Riyadh. The station lies in the orange route which links between the center and King Khaled International Airport.

The project facilities:

The project includes a set of amenities and facilities which aims in principle to satisfy residents’ needs. Facilities projects in KAFD include Al Wadi Park, aquarium, conference center, environment museum, science museum, and spa.

It will encompass seven mosques architected to implement the traditional Islamic design, besides open gardens and considering the aesthetic aspect of the whole project.

King Abdullah Financial District companies and institutions

The district will have a financial academy to offer training courses and a wide array of educational services in various financial majors for whoever wants to apply.

Also, many domestic financial institutions have uncovered their intention to open new branches or move their headquarters to the center including SAMBA Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, and The Arab National Bank.

Major insurance companies, brokering agencies, consulting and accounting firms are studying reserving unique locations for themselves in the King Abdullah Financial District.