The Al Ahsa region, with its major city Al Hofuf, is situated between Riyadh and Dammam. The region benefits from its strategic location along the main trade route between Riyadh (338 km) and the neighboring countries Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE. The city is driven by its direct proximity to the Ghawar oil field (approx. 530,000 ha), the world´s largest conventional oil field. According to municipal plans, it is expected that the city extension will develop eastwards. Thus, it is fortunate that the Ministry of Housing (MOH) controls a large tract of land within this area with a sheer size of nearly 200 million square meters suitable for city extension. This land shapes the eastern edge of the Hofuf area, located at the Highway 6614. The target of the district development plan called Dahiyat Al Asfar is to prepare a vision and a blue-print for future oriented sustainable urban development in Saudi Arabia. The development vision for Dahiyat Al Asfar is outlined in physical terms in the preliminary master plan concept. This concept shows the project`s sustainable approach. The key features are: - Implementation of a polycentric city structure - Development of medium- and high-density residential and commercial clusters along the highway and orientation of low-density residential compounds towards the park and the lake - Implementation of additional identity-forming key features and touristic attractions - Development of job generating business zones - Realization of a connected park system with high-quality open spaces - Tourism and leisure-oriented service clusters - Overall ecologically-minded development plan with the target of protecting environmentally sensitive areas