Yokogawa to Support Green Riyadh with Smart Urban Infrastructure Control Technologies
Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6841) has announced that its subsidiary, Yokogawa Saudi Arabia, has been awarded a significant contract by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City to supply advanced systems and services for the main command and control center of the Green Riyadh initiative. Green Riyadh is one of the flagship programs under Saudi Arabia’s national transformation plan, Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to enhance quality of life, promote sustainability, and position Riyadh among the world’s most livable and environmentally forward cities.
The Green Riyadh project represents one of the largest urban greening efforts globally. Its scope includes the planting of approximately 7.5 million trees across public parks, roadways, private developments, educational institutions, healthcare centers, and recreational areas throughout the city. Through this transformation, Riyadh aims to significantly expand its green spaces, increasing the average green area per resident from its current 1.7 square meters to 28 square meters by 2030. The initiative not only focuses on beautification, but also on practical, long-term sustainability benefits that improve the environmental, social, and economic well-being of its population.
One of the key features of the project is its water sustainability strategy. Rather than relying on freshwater sources, all irrigation for the newly planted trees and landscapes will use treated wastewater. This approach supports responsible water resource management in a region where water scarcity is a critical challenge. By incorporating efficient irrigation networks and modern monitoring technologies, the project aims to reduce waste, improve system resilience, and ensure long-term viability of green infrastructure in an arid climate.
The benefits of the Green Riyadh initiative are expected to be wide-ranging. Increasing greenery across the city will help improve air quality by absorbing pollutants and reducing dust levels. The expansion of vegetation will also help moderate the city’s microclimate, reducing ambient temperatures and mitigating the urban heat island effect—a pressing issue in rapidly urbanizing environments. Additionally, more green space contributes to lower energy consumption, as shaded public spaces and cooler city temperatures can reduce the demand for air conditioning. From a social perspective, the project is designed to encourage healthier lifestyles by creating more inviting spaces for outdoor recreation, community activities, and pedestrian movement across Riyadh’s neighborhoods.
To ensure the success and long-term sustainability of this massive initiative, Yokogawa will provide a fully integrated system to monitor and control the urban infrastructure that supports the Green Riyadh program. The company will deploy its OpreX™ Collaborative Information Server along with the OpreX Intelligent Manufacturing Hub as the primary technological platform for the main command and control center. This platform will act as a centralized system that consolidates and synchronizes data from multiple sources—including environmental sensors, weather data, irrigation control systems, water distribution networks, and lighting infrastructure.
By integrating this information into a single unified environment, the command center will benefit from real-time visibility into all key operational areas. This will enable predictive analytics, responsive decision-making, and automated adjustments to ensure efficient and sustainable management of resources. For example, irrigation schedules can be optimized based on weather forecasts and soil moisture data, while park lighting systems can be controlled dynamically to conserve energy without compromising safety. The system’s modular and scalable design will allow additional assets to be incorporated over time as the Green Riyadh project progresses and expands.
This contract award highlights Yokogawa’s long-standing expertise in advanced control systems, digital transformation solutions, and large-scale infrastructure integration. It also demonstrates the company’s growing involvement in urban sustainability projects, where technology plays an essential role in enabling smarter, greener, and more resilient cities.
Kunimasa Shigeno, President and CEO of Yokogawa Electric Corporation, expressed the company’s enthusiasm and commitment to supporting the initiative. “We are proud to be entrusted to work on such a large-scale urban transformation project,” Shigeno stated. “This project aligns with Yokogawa’s goal to deliver synergies and new value through the system-of-systems approach, in which independently operated and managed systems are connected to form a larger integrated solution. We look forward to contributing to similar initiatives in the region and globally.”
Green Riyadh is one of several megaprojects within Vision 2030 that aim to enhance environmental sustainability and quality of life throughout Saudi Arabia. The success of this project could serve as a model for other cities worldwide seeking to balance rapid development with environmental stewardship. By combining large-scale ecological planning with smart digital management systems, the initiative demonstrates how technology and nature can work together to create healthier and more livable urban environments.
As the project progresses toward its 2030 targets, Yokogawa’s integrated technology platform will play a critical role in ensuring that Riyadh’s expanded green spaces are managed efficiently, sustainably, and in alignment with global best practices in smart city development. Through this partnership, Yokogawa contributes to shaping a greener future for Riyadh—one where innovation supports both environmental responsibility and improved quality of life for millions of residents.
