Oil Makes City Go Boom

"Little more than a dusty desert outpost three decades ago, Riyadh is a boom town where even a stock market crash last year and a spike in inflation over recent months have failed to halt the orgy of conspicuous consumption."

"Ever since oil moved from a base of $10 a barrel in the late 1990s to nearly $100 this month, the desert monarchy has seen a turnaround in its economic fortunes and a return to some of the profligate spending that characterised the 1970s and 80s."

"Every day newspapers carry announcements of new projects costing billions of riyals, a currency whose strength is masked by its tight peg to the U.S. dollar."

"The Riyadh Development Authority has been set up to oversee plans to develop a financial centre, technology park and underground metro system."