KAFD: Riyadh’s Prime Business & Lifestyle Destination

Over the past decade, the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh has grown to become a prime business and lifestyle hub in the region, overcoming significant challenges along the way. Now, KAFD is charting the next phase of its journey, evolving to become a truly 24/7 destination. 

KAFD Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC) was established in 2018 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to oversee every aspect of the district from planning, design, construction, and operations, to ensure a world-class experience for all stakeholders. Having successfully delivered all its legacy projects in 2024, KAFD has become a thriving business hub and the economic heart of Saudi Arabia, with over 20,000 professionals working in the district, supported by a holistic urban lifestyle bringing together retail, dining, leisure and residential offerings.    

Today, KAFD DMC has set its sights firmly on the future, building on the district’s overwhelming success as a prime business hub to complete its transition to a truly 24/7 destination, where people can live, work, and play in an interconnected, pedestrian-friendly environment.  Learn more about KAFD: https://www.kafd.sa/ 

Saudi Arabia is undergoing a period of rapid change and economic development, spurred on by Vision 2030 and the spirit of the nation. A significant driving force behind this remarkable transformation has been KAFD. With its iconic skyline rising above Riyadh, the district’s 95 buildings have become home to over 140 corporate tenants and 20 regional headquarters (RHQs). 

KAFD’s tenants are some of the largest and most prestigious global businesses, including Goldman Sachs, PepsiCo, Pfizer, and Bain & Company, bringing international skills and capabilities to the Kingdom and unlocking limitless opportunities for its people through employment, partnership, and investment. KAFD also hosts leading Saudi government, semi-government, and private entities, including PIF, Aramco, and Saudi Tadawul Group, forming an unmatched community at the intersection of Saudi ambition and global expertise. 

Having successfully developed a thriving world-class business district, KAFD is  a living testament to how ambitious projects can go from vision to reality in Saudi Arabia. Building on this success, KAFD DMC is setting the stage for the next phase of KAFD’s journey, as it transitions towards a truly 24/7 district. 

KAFD’s Chief Asset Delivery Officer - Faddy AlAql, Chief Corporate Officer - Sultan Alshahrani, Chief Commercial Officer - Sultan Alobaida, and Chief Strategy & Portfolio Management Officer - Milan Mirjanic discuss KAFD’s major milestones and achievements and explain the vision for the future of KAFD.

Spanning over 1.6 million square meters, KAFD was designed by 25 world-renowned architects, including Foster + Partners, Henning Larsen Architects and Gensler, to create an integrated mixed-use urban environment where all of life’s essentials are moments away. At KAFD, people seamlessly transition from their workplaces to business lunches at acclaimed dining venues, such as MICHELIN-recommended Benoit and Il Barretto, and evenings with friends and family at the district’s expansive green spaces, which host various community events throughout the year. 

KAFD’s 15-minute city design allows life to seamlessly flow across its various facets, enabled by its unique pedestrian-friendly masterplan, which incorporates wide public thoroughfares, intertwined with expansive public spaces, that foster smooth journeys throughout the district and offer space to connect and build community. 

KAFD pedestrian infrastructure includes a network of climate-controlled skywalks that is more than 15 kilometers long, holding the Guinness World Record for the longest skywalk network. The district’s multimodal mobility solutions includes the largest and busiest metro station in the Riyadh metro network, connecting the district to Riyadh, the airport and beyond, and plans for a driverless monorail city, which is expected to begin operations in the coming years, and can transport up to 3,500 passengers per hour.

As KAFD cements its position as the prime business and lifestyle destination in the region and beyond, it is setting its sights on bigger ambitions. It aims to meet existing demand and set the stage for the future by building more than 9,000 new residential apartments, adding more hotels, and offering expanded lifestyle and entertainment options, supplementing the district’s existing range of diverse amenities that attract more than 30,000 daily community members. 

For business, this will mean higher employee satisfaction and talent retention, and ultimately higher productivity; for residents, it provides an unmatched quality of life, with the opportunity to live where you work.  

Today, KAFD is at the halfway point in its development. In this new chapter, KAFD is taking a proven, successful model and scaling it to meet existing and future demand. At KAFD, the future isn’t just being built; it’s being lived.