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King Salman Park Foundation is preparing a phased soft opening of the Riyadh park as it moves from construction to operations.

Dale Chadwick, the foundation’s acting CEO, speaking at MEED’s Shaping Mega Projects conference in Riyadh on 28 September, said 95% of the contracts for phases one and two had been awarded, and irrigation for both phases was installed.

“There are areas of the landscape in the park that, literally, we could open tomorrow,” he said. "It’s trying to stitch this all together into a cohesive opening.”

The foundation will present its opening plan to its board at the end of this week. Chadwick said announcements were expected in the coming months.

“We can’t just open 12 square kilometres of green space and public domain without going through a process,” he said.

Landscaping works are about to restart for the season. The foundation plans to plant about 4 million plants this year at a rate of 50,000-60,000 a day. Its water treatment plant is operating on a temporary basis, producing about 50,000 cubic metres a day.

The Royal Arts Complex, one of the park’s anchor assets, is due to be handed over to the Ministry of Culture within three to six months.

Operational shift

The foundation has moved out of its headquarters in King Abdullah Financial District (Kafd). About 230-240 staff are now based in the operations and maintenance building it built inside the park. The foundation will relocate fully once its permanent headquarters is complete.

Chadwick said the move into operations was new territory for the organisation, which has not yet opened an asset. The foundation is engaging operators and has agreed how its operations will be structured.

"It’s working with nature, so it’s a little bit tricky to really forecast how that’s going to pan out,” he said. "We’ve seen good results with the landscaping.”

Private assets

The public realm accounts for about SR50bn ($13.3bn) of investment. A further SR150bn of private assets is planned, and about SR20bn of this has been awarded.

One private asset package is on site and three are in design. The foundation is close to awarding another, which Chadwick said involves foreign investment.

He said the private assets would fund the park over the long term. “The public realm is the financial burden in terms of the ongoing operation of the park,” he said. “The financial revenue engine for us is the private assets. That is the long-term financial health.”

Chadwick estimated the private asset programme was 20%-35% complete, depending on the measure used.

The foundation has received 23 expressions of interest from developers. It is timing awards to follow infrastructure and landscaping works so that investors can see progress before committing.

“What the private sector is looking for in terms of investment is surety of what we’re doing,” said Chadwick. “The closer we get to completion, the greater the appetite.”

Phase three

The third phase is being replanned. A golf course originally planned for the area will be replaced to allow the site to be commercialised. Chadwick said the remaster planning, which also responds to requests from the board, would start in the next couple of months.

Chadwick said the foundation wanted the park to become a destination of choice for Riyadh residents. He said it had studied parks such as New York’s Central Park and London’s Hyde Park.

“We’re providing a blank canvas for people to come in and experience the park,” he said. “Those parks have been there for a long time, and this is Riyadh’s journey to having a park that has some similar longevity. This is just the start of that journey.”

MEED’s October 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

> COMMENT: Saudi projects hold steady
> GOVERNMENT: Riyadh looks to reset its regional defence outlook
> ECONOMY: Conflict bolsters case for Saudi economic diversification
> BANKING: Saudi lenders readjust to lower lending and deposit climate
> UPSTREAM: Aramco upstream spending gathers pace
> DOWNSTREAM: Sabic steps up Saudi petchems investment
> POWER: Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows
> WATER: Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown
> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction defies the headwinds
> TRANSPORT: Saudi infrastructure pushes forward amid conflict
> DATABANK: Saudi data indicates project spending shift