“The developed land includes 176 sq km, which is up 16.8 percent compared to the total in the 2005 survey,” said an ADA spokesman.

The growth is concentrated on the fringes of the city, especially in the eastern part where buildings and housing constructions dominate the landscape.

The study also indicates that the number of housing units constructed totals 817,000, up 16 percent from 2005. For its new study, the ADA has used a new type of technology to accumulate statistics on housing units and the size of land used.

“These are in addition to buildings under construction and empty lots representing 50 percent of the whole land in Riyadh,” the spokesman said.