JEDDAH: The Diriyah Gate Development Authority has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in innovative smart city technology to support the historic city of Diriyah, according to the CEO.
Jerry Inzerillo, the CEO of DGDA, told Arab News during the 116th Executive Council of the UN World Tourism Organization that the company intends to develop Diriyah as a smart city.
Below the historic city, Inzerillo stated that state-of-the-art technology supports the city in all aspects of electricity, water, sewage and traffic, with zero-carbon footprint.
On the surface, Diriyah’s ancient city will be rich in history, a very emotive walking city, but beneath the surface, the world’s brightest technology will be used to preserve that city, Inzerillo informed.
The city will be built using the mud-brick typology, just as it was 300 years ago. He added that the company is producing 185 million mud bricks to cover all of the structures and make them look like they belong to the Saudi state.
DGDA is harnessing solar and wind energy from all over the Kingdom and will install all-new water systems, piping and technology. As a result, the authority has reclaimed 24 percent of drip irrigation.
“We recycle old domestic water. We treat it for irrigation of all the new green Saudi initiatives,” Inzerillo added.
He said that if a pipe bursts, the DGDA already knows where it is and can immediately repair it, preventing waste.
The CEO said that to achieve net carbon neutrality, the DGDA is working to transition all of Diriyah and the Kingdom to more electric vehicles.
Because DGDA understands how important and sentimental the city is, they practice sustainability “every minute of every day,” Inzerillo said.
