We consider New Murabba as a modern reimagining of the traditional downtown. In total we are creating 19 km² of new urban space, half of which is developed the other half is developed to mobility and green space. This will include and area of 9 km² of fully developed space for about 450.000 inhabitants, 4,5 km² dedicated to green spaces and wadis. That alone will allow people to live and explore a style of living that is not yet possible – at such scale - in the Riyadh of today. It really is a shift from so-called post-modern developments where you squeezed the spatial efficiency to a maximum.

Yes. And no, if you bear in mind that already at the end of the 70s Albert Speer & Partner designed the New Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh. Admittedly, the first and prime use was for embassies and diplomats, nevertheless, it introduced an utterly new and green urban concept to the KSA.

AtkinsRéalis, the professional services and project management company, was appointed to masterplan New Murabba; bringing our vision of the world’s largest downtown to life. The masterplan was inspired by the concept of the “15-minute city”: an urban planning concept in which all-important services and necessities are easily accessible and within reach of 15 minutes. Our ambition is that people will need a maximum of 10 minutes to reach all essential amenities, such as schools, health centres, shops, sporting, leisure, hospitality etc.. And the extra 5 minutes is the additional time it takes from your home to the nearest public transport.

It will be part of it, so to speak. New Murabba borders Riyadh as we know it today. Therefore, it will enrich Riyadh as it is today. If you like, New Murabba will be a physical gateway from the Riyadh of today to that of tomorrow. It is like an invisible line of time where you transit from one perception of time to another. Quite interestingly New Murabba will also serve as a backdoor to Diriyah because it is adjacent to the historical birthplace of the Kingdom. And when new development opportunities open up, either to the north or to the east, New Murabba will function as a physical as much as a virtual gateway.

If you believe the renderings, you will hardly be able to miss the new district.

Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, you will be able to see the centrally located Mukaab Building from many miles away. The Mukaab will be, apart from being a dominant structure and an architectural icon, one of the largest structures and most challenging civil engineering projects in world. Its dimensions will be 400 x 400 x 400 metres. It will lie between two prime highways and function as a comprehensive urban hub.

At this moment in time, we are about to go to the market seeking partners both for the perspective of breaking up the Makaab into design packages and also dividing up the physical constructability. The scale of the undertaking is simply enormous. We have to make sure to get the best and most talented architectural and engineering horsepower in the world to design and construct the space. The Makaab will go into operation by 2030. It will be the first seminal milestone for New Murabba including the surrounding parks and living quarters. One reason for this timing is that also in 2030 the World Expo will be taking place in Riyadh and New Murabba will be a prime venue of it. Above and beyond that we have 11 anchor assets ranging from, for example, a museum, a university, a multi-sports arena and a stadium for 45.000 spectators. All of these anchor assets will be dotted around New Murabba. People, from within the Kingdom and visitors from abroad, will flock to New Murabba to live, work and play. Our hope and aspiration are that when they return home, they will take with them vivid impressions of this ever changing environment and book their ticket to come back.

The Makaab alone will be more multi-facetted, altogether 2.2 million square meters of occupied space, half of which will be residential. The interior volume will be the equivalent of 18 Empire State Buildings. Essentially, it will be anchored by four corner towers, two of which will be residential, the remaining two hotels and further mixed use. The entire roof is 16 hectares large. For all these reasons a direct comparison with the Burj Khalifa does not really work. On top comes retail space of approximately 980.000 m² which simply does not compare to Mall of Dubai or any other of those Dubai shopping facilities. And finally, the centre of the Makaab will be taken up by an enormous 360 m high dome, a central spiral of similar height and a 380 m diameter base. It will house an experience that has never been seen before.

Michael Dyke has been CEO of New Murabba Development Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, since January 2024. He previously held leading positions at EDF, National Grid, Skanska and Balfour Beatty.