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Wadi Hanifah is deemed as the
most important natural landmark in Riyadh area. It spreads over an area
exceeded 120 sq-km penetrating Riyadh-city. The valley is flowing down from
northwestern towards southeastern. More than forty rivers are pouring on
this Wadi which is still contains the remains of traditional environment
features at the area, such as villages, parks, and farms. This valley is
overflow with agricultural, inheriting, entertaining ingredients that
assist in its developing as entertaining, agricultural and cultural center
for the city-dwellers.
The higher commission for Riyadh
development has established a strategy for investing and developing Wadi
Hanifah since 1407H for the sake of maintaining its natural environment and
prohibiting human destructive activity and preparing it as a natural
drainage for water. It could also be used as an entertaining summer resort.
The commission considers the
valley as an environmental protectorate as well as developing area under
its supervision. According to above mentioned, the commission performed
visibility study including water resources, land, wildlife, land ownership
and its employment, the existing farms in the valley, inheriting and
entertaining ingredients, traffic, air and water pollution and water
livings. The study resulted in creation of a comprehensive strategy for
developing the valley. Finally this strategy approved by the commission in
1415H. The strategy is based on a number of policies, organizations,
procedures and works in order to achieve the goals above mentioned.
The strategy aims to cease
environmental destruction to the valley by maintaining and developing its
resources as well as establishing organizational diagrams for the usage of
the land in the valley, providing entertaining facilities and completing
the basic structure in the valley area in order to encourage investment in
developmental projects. Accordingly, HRH, the chief of higher commission
for developing Riyadh-city order to constitute several committees for
studying the destructive factors that affect the environment of the valley
and suggesting adequate solutions. Now, most of the committees has achieved
their successfully. In 1419H the commission has decided to form a committee
to set up a joint venture to develop the valley.
The project starts with cleaning
the water channel, public facilities, road networks, reusing the water and
its distribution system, innovating and improving inherent installations,
identifying the width of the main valley and its subsidiary branches, water
current, processing undeveloped diagrams behind and at the edge of the
valley, and developing the agricultural sector technically and
administratively.
In this connection, new
industrial activities in the valley were prohibited except handcraft. The
existing activities will be removed outside the valley or will be subject
to environmental criterion until transferring them to another area. Also new lines for ground or aerial
public installation crossing the valley were prohibited. When it’s necessary to initiate
such lines, it is recommended to avoid torrent. The problems of the existing public installation lines
were processed. New roads were
constructed according to strategy.
On the other hand the laying of any debris or garbage was prohibited
in order to prepare the valley for starting new developing projects
according to strategy.
The projects include the
execution of water channel, initiating fixed control stations, surrounding
public land and environmental protectorates, executing water purifying by
natural methods, constructing typical entertaining facilities, a group of
watching points, passerby passages, coordinating the sites on the valley,
building main road, paved roads leading to subsidiary valleys, roads
connected with the entertaining sites to redeem the planting cover and
executing forestation project.
The higher commission for
developing Riyadh-city is promoting the city in accordance with developing
objectives. On this basis they
are performing studies, planning as well as coordination with the concerned
authorities for developing residential complexes inside the valley
according to land usage plan which is connected with architectural
development studies for Riyadh-city and the future overview of the valley.
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