Riyadh Launches Air Quality Campaign for Builders

A new air quality compliance campaign is targeting construction dust across Riyadh, with more than 3,000 inspections of building projects carried out and 557 violations issued for dust-control non-compliance. The campaign was launched in February 2026 in cooperation with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and Riyadh Municipality, focusing on construction projects within the city's urban boundaries.

Total fines under the campaign exceeded SAR 16 million. Under the fugitive dust framework, individual dust-control violations at construction sites can carry administrative penalties of up to SAR 50,000 each. The mandatory dust rules apply to construction projects with a total site area of 2,000 square metres or more.

Sites within scope must meet several requirements, including installing on-site air quality monitoring devices linked to a unified monitoring platform, using certified dust suppression materials, and spraying or treating exposed surfaces daily. Materials and trucks must be covered during transport, and truck movements must follow the technical dust-control guide.

Why it matters for residents

Construction dust is one of the most visible sources of poor air quality in fast-growing neighbourhoods. The push encourages developers to treat clean air as a shared social responsibility, aiming to reduce the daily dust that affects households, schools, and workplaces near active building sites.

The campaign is part of a wider national air-quality system. Establishments with emission sources are required to install real-time measurement units at emission points, linked to a central national monitoring unit. A national monitoring network operates 240 ambient air quality stations across regions and cities, producing indicators updated every five minutes for 22 air components. The Executive Regulation for Air Quality also sets out permits, licences, emission standards, monitoring, inspection, and penalties for non-compliance.

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