Saudi government has opened to the public a 4.2-km-long waterfront in Jeddah city built at a cost of SR800 million ($218 million), said a report.

Covering a 700,000-sq-m area, the development boasts vast green areas, advanced infrastructure and a 650-m-long walkway as well as three new beaches with a total area of 50,000 sq m, reported the Saudi Gazette.

The entire waterfront project will be completed in six phases. The first three phases, extending from the border guard centre in the south up to Al Nawras Square in the north, were completed earlier and opened to the public, according to the report.

The fourth and fifth phases have just been completed featuring over 275,000 sq m of green areas, it said.

The sixth phase, which will be taken up in the future, extends from Jubair Bin Al Harith Street to Al Rahma Mosque in the north, stated the Saudi Gazette report.

The Jeddah waterfront  project also included a 6-km-long sewage network, a 14-km-long drainage network for rainwater and floods, a seven-km-long irrigation network, potable water, and an electricity network consisting of 35 km of low-voltage cables and communications network.

There is also a 4,634-m-long sea walkway and 650-m-long suspended pedestrian bridge connecting the corniche with Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Street, stated the report.

In addition, it includes a 125-m-long fishing pier with 15 canopies, which can accommodate 814 people.