The Kingdom is launching a SR3 trillion plan with the aim of doubling the size of Riyadh in the next 10 years and to turn it into an economic, social and cultural hub for the region.

Fahd Al-Rasheed, president of the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh, revealed the ambitious plan for the capital city ahead of key meetings of the U20, the arm of the G20 leaders’ summit that deals with urban development and strategy.

“Riyadh is already a very important economic engine for the Kingdom, and although it’s already very successful, the plan now, under Vision 2030, is to actually take that way further, to double the population to 15 million people,” he told Arab News.

“We’ve already launched 18 megaprojects in the city, worth over SR1 trillion, over $250 billion, to both improve livability and deliver much higher economic growth so we can create jobs and double the population in 10 years. It’s a significant plan and the whole city is working to make sure this happens.” He added.

The private sector alone is investing $250 billion, and the same amount has been collected from the increased economic activity from population growth, finance and banking, cultural and desert tourism, and leisure events.

“We must also ensure the growth is managed properly, so there will be a focus on transport and logistics, including the Riyadh metro which will open at the beginning of next year. The aim is to increase productivity,” Al-Rasheed said.

The plan involves the creation of a “mega industrial zone” that focuses on using renewable energy and biotechnology. In addition to using sustainability, with energy conservation, the circular carbon economy with its emphasis on reducing emissions, and water management, all priorities.

The CFA Society Saudi Arabia, a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute global network of societies, has elected a new board that includes three women joining the ranks of the nine-member board.

Marking yet another accomplishment for women of Saudi Arabia and proving their significant role in the workplace.

The 2020 elections witnessed a record number of 28 nominees and another record number of 164 members voting.

Due to the current situation caused by the pandemic, the voting was conducted online and proxy voting was not considered for 2020 elections. The voting closed at 5 PM on Sunday and voters picked 9 out of the 28 nominees.

Here are your new board of directors for the year 2020!

The British International School of Jeddah (BISJ) just received a Guinness World Record for making the world’s largest chain of bottle caps!

The staff and students at the British International School of Jeddah (BISJ) put together 323,103 caps to break the previous Guinness World Records title of 260,866 gained in the Netherlands.

This falls as a part of an even bigger campaign! As the official attempt was to collect a massive amount of bottle caps for recycling, with the aim to donate the funds locally to support children with disabilities by buying items such as wheelchairs and leg braces for them.

How incredibly considerate is this attempt?

Sonja Sutcliffe, deputy head of the BISJ, said: “We have tried to break the Guinness World Records title for over a year with an aim to raising community awareness of the problem of plastic pollution, especially in oceans.”

“We started by collecting as many bottle caps as we could, even cleaning up the local areas a little on the way.” She added.

The school took a scientific approach to the challenge, in which it worked out the best ways to put holes in the caps and measure out fishing line to string them together.

“The message was to visually represent how many plastic bottles we use and see how the tops could be converted into specialized equipment for less-fortunate children. This is an amazing achievement of teamwork, vision, and resilience,” Sutcliffe said.