Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Real Estate (Al Akaria) has revealed plans to establish Al Widyan megaproject through its wholly-owned subsidiary Al Widyan Co in collaboration with other partners.

The first phase of the seven-year project has already commenced in 2017 at SAR 10 billion ($2.67 billion) in investments, the Saudi firm said in a statement.

Located in the northern growth corridor of Riyadh, Al Widyan project covers an area of 7 million square metres.

The Saudi real estate developer further noted that the project would seek to reduce the use of waste by 35% and energy use by 40%.

“The development – Al Widyan – is the first private real estate project to be granted the status of a self-regulatory office (SRO) which de-risks the project for investors, reducing complexities in the development phase and fast tracks permit services,” the statement added.

The Tadawul-listed firm is expected to unveil more details about the project in October.

Al Akaria’s chairman Abdulrahman Almofadhi described Al Widyan as “a new paradigm for community living in the kingdom [that would] embody the spirit of new Saudi Arabia.

He added the project would also embody “ the power of human talent to conceptualise and develop the future that we aspire to for our children, communities and nation.”

Al Akaria’s stock fell 0.55% to close Monday at SAR 14.54.