Assessing the financial and economic impact of the Green Riyadh Initiative
Quantifying the value of urban transformation.
Trees targeted across Riyadh
We supported the Royal Commission for Riyadh City in evaluating the economic and financial impact of the Green Riyadh Initiative — one of the Kingdom’s most ambitious urban greening programs — to ensure financial sustainability and alignment with Vision 2030.
Green Riyadh aimed to plant 7.5 million trees across the capital — but transforming a desert city into a green metropolis required a financial model that could justify the investment and attract private sector participation.
Riyadh is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, projected to reach 15 million residents by 2030. The Green Riyadh Initiative — part of the broader Saudi Green Initiative — set out to fundamentally transform the urban environment by planting 7.5 million trees, creating new public green spaces, and reducing the city’s average temperature by 1–2°C.
While the environmental and social benefits were clear, the program’s financial sustainability was less certain. The Royal Commission needed a rigorous economic and financial assessment that could articulate the initiative’s value in terms that government decision-makers, treasury officials, and potential private sector partners could understand and act upon.
“Everyone agreed Riyadh needed to be greener. The question was how to pay for it — and how to prove the economic returns would justify one of the largest urban greening investments in history.”
— RCRC Senior Advisor
We built a comprehensive economic and financial framework that quantified the initiative’s direct, indirect, and induced impacts across multiple dimensions.
Economic Impact Assessment
Quantified the initiative’s macroeconomic impact including GDP contribution, job creation, property value uplift, health cost reductions, and carbon sequestration benefits using established economic valuation methodologies.
Financial Sustainability Model
Developed a long-term financial model covering capital expenditure, operational costs, revenue streams (including commercial activations, sponsorship, and carbon credits), and funding gap analysis.
Private Sector Strategy
Identified and structured potential private sector revenue opportunities including green bonds, corporate sponsorship frameworks, and commercial activation models within new green spaces.
Vision 2030 Alignment
Mapped the initiative’s outcomes against Vision 2030 KPIs and Quality of Life program targets to strengthen the case for continued government investment and cross-ministry support.
The assessment provided the economic justification for one of the region’s most ambitious urban transformation programs and identified revenue pathways to support long-term financial sustainability.
Trees targeted across Riyadh
Projected property value uplift in green corridors
New revenue streams identified for sustainability
“Arpus gave us the financial narrative we needed. The assessment transformed an environmental aspiration into an economically compelling investment thesis.”
Director of Strategic PlanningRoyal Commission for Riyadh City
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