RIYADH, 15 June 2007 — Riyadh Mayor Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Ayaf Al-Muqrin opened here three municipal parks in Al-Shumaisi, Al-Azizia, and Al-Yarmouk districts, as part of the municipality’s program to establish 100 public areas in the capital within the next three years.
Each municipality park has a playground, a basketball court, a soccer pitch, a walking track, benches and green areas. Larger parks have volleyball and handball courts. All these parks provide parking areas for families and residents. Twelve parks have been opened so far.
“We are committed to building 100 within the next three years,” the mayor told Arab News. “A budget of SR60 million has been allocated to the municipality to build these parks, and SR30 million has been budgeted for the initial stage.”
According to the mayor, all municipality parks have been built using unified standards that call for optimum building material at a low cost.
The parks will provide a rich opportunity for families to watch their children play outdoors and enjoy sports within their own neighborhood. In addition, parents will no longer need to register their young ones in private gyms to stay in shape.
The parks are public entities that are developed by the municipality from purchased lands. According to Prince Abdul Aziz, in addition to the walking areas in the capital and the future parks, the governorate of Riyadh and its municipality aim to make Riyadh the “The Humanity Capital” in the near future.
“These open areas are for the young and old. Families and children can enjoy their time in a healthy environment,” said Prince Abdul Aziz. “It gives me great pleasure to see how happy people are every time I open one of these areas.”
The Al-Shumaisi Municipality playground is located in the heart of the district and covers a total area of 6,446 square meters; the park in Al-Azizia covers 4,737 square meters; and the Al-Yarmouk Municipality ground covers 10,800 square meters.
“The parks belong to the people of the neighborhood and they will be the ones who will watch and care for it,” the mayor said, adding that building municipality parks in central and southern districts in Riyadh was proof that the municipality did not give preference to some districts over others.
In addition to building these new parks, the mayor said the municipality is rebuilding old parks in the capital and is studying areas to build new walking areas. The King Abdullah Park, another major development plan by the municipality, is set to open in September, the mayor said.
Prince Abdul Aziz said, as part of the municipality’s social role, some of these parks would have soccer tournaments during the month of Ramadan. “The awarding ceremonies will take place during Eid festivities,” he said.
