Riyadh, 19 November 2025 - The King Abdullah Financial District Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC), the manager of Riyadh’s premier business and lifestyle destination, has announced that King Abduallah Financial District (KAFD) has achieved ModeScore Communities Platinum certification, becoming the world's first financial district to receive the ModeScore Communities certification. The announcement was made at Cityscape Global, reinforcing KAFD's position as the premier destination for sustainable business in the region.

ModeScore Communities recognizes masterplans, districts, and large-scale developments that demonstrate excellence in sustainable mobility and community connectivity. The certification assesses entire masterplans at the neighborhood level, evaluating how public transport, active travel, and shared mobility are integrated to support access, inclusion, and resilience. This differs from building-level ModeScore certifications, which assess individual buildings within developments. Since launching in 2024 at MIPIM, one of the world's leading real estate conferences, ModeScore has accredited over 1,500 professionals across 56 countries. While individual buildings in developments such as PENN District in New York, MediaCityUK, and Silverstone Park in the UK have received building-level certifications, KAFD is the first to be certified at the masterplan level through ModeScore Communities.

Maran Balasubramaniam, Acting Chief City Operations Officer at KAFD DMC, said: “Achieving the world’s first ModeScore Communities certification at Platinum level reflects KAFD’s long-term commitment to sustainable mobility. Our award-winning multimodal mobility system has been purpose-built to reduce emissions and embed low-carbon commuting into daily life. Our system integrates the Riyadh metro, shuttles, a planned 3.6 km monorail, and the world’s largest climate-controlled pedestrian skyway network—at 15.46 KM length—according to Guinness World Records. We’re proud to offer infrastructure that helps companies meet ESG goals while elevating the standard for future-ready business districts and advancing Saudi Vision 2030’s Quality of Life Program.”

KAFD's Platinum certification recognizes the sustainable transport infrastructure across its 1.6 million square meter development, including direct connectivity to Riyadh Metro through an integrated monorail system, climate-controlled skywalks connecting offices, residences, retail venues, and hotels, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and electric vehicle charging facilities.

James Nash, Co-founder of ModeScore, said: “KAFD is the first financial district to achieve ModeScore Communities certification, a district built around movement. It connects metro access, public transport, and a network of skywalks into one continuous system. That’s what we look for in Communities projects: places where mobility shapes the masterplan, and where low-carbon travel becomes the natural way to move.”

With more than 140 office tenants and 19 regional headquarters today, KAFD attracts international companies seeking a sustainable base in the Middle East. The certification reflects how KAFD is helping to reduce emissions from commuting and support companies in meeting their sustainability commitments.

The certification furthermore builds on KAFD's sustainability achievements, including being the first neighborhood in the Middle East and North Africa to achieve WiredScore's Global Smart Neighborhood Certification and launching Saudi Arabia's first Smart WiFi-7 service in collaboration with Huawei, supporting Saudi Vision 2030's Quality of Life Program.