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Saudi Arabia’s Sports Boulevard Foundation has completed the design work on the Global Sports Tower, which is planned for construction next year.

“The design work on the project is completed, and we are targeting the next phase next year,” Mohammad Alqahtani, executive vice-president of delivery at the Sports Boulevard Foundation, said at the MEED Saudi Gigaprojects summit in Riyadh on 13 May.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman approved designs for the Global Sports Tower, which will be built in the Sports Boulevard development, in July last year.

The 130-metre-tall Global Sports Tower will span an area of 84,000 square metres and include over 30 different sports facilities.

The tower will have the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall at 98 metres and a 250-metre running track.

Alqahtani also provided updates on the construction of various elements of the Sports Boulevard project.

“We have opened 40% of the site until now, including the Prince Turki underpass, which was opened late last year,” Alqahtani said.

Sports Boulevard runs through Riyadh from east to west. Once complete, it will be the world’s longest park, at over 135 kilometres. The project will be spread across different districts within the park.

The districts will include a series of buildings.

Other destinations planned for the development include the Sands Sports Park, amphitheatres, the Centre for Cinematic Arts, the Arts District, the Discovery Park and Wadi Ajyasen.

The large-scale project aims to transform the cityscape of central Riyadh, which is currently dominated by major highways, into a recreational area.