Salam Park, a $16m scheme in the centre of Saudi Arabia capital, Riyadh, has been officially opened by Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud.

The 30-hectare park, part of a green belt development throughout Riyadh, includes a man-made lake, a palm grove, a grassed area for recreationand a wildlife conservation zone.

The boating lake boasts a 30m central fountain and uses third generation water – it has first been used as desalinated potable water, then as irrigation water and then collected from the high water table in the city, cleaned and pumped into the lake.

The scheme was designed by London based architecture, design and engineering group, Aukett, in a joint venture with Riyadh company, Omrania & Associates. It was funded by the Arriyadh Development Authority on behalf of the government.

The Aukett team won the contract in 1996 with work commencing in February 2002.