JEDDAH, 2 August — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, will commission new tourism and development projects worth about SR1 billion ($266.66 million) in Taif during a visit to the resort city next week.
According to Fahd Muammar, the governor of Taif, the crown prince will open the first phase of the 500-bed King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital in the city during his visit set to begin on Sunday. The hospital project, the largest in Taif, is estimated to cost SR600 million.
Other vital projects to be commissioned by Prince Abdullah include an electricity sub-station which is built at a cost of SR175 million, an SR40-million cable car project in Hada and the 20-km-long Muhammadiya Road in Hada built at a cost of SR36 million.
Muammar said the 4,200 meter-long cable car linking the Hada Mountain with the low-lying Kara valley is part of a tourist village project by the Taif Investment and Tourism Company. Some 1,000 people can use the 52 cars an hour. The village includes a 110-bed, five-star hotel as well.
Muammar, who is chairman of the tourism promotion committee in the region, revealed a plan to establish a large number of new tourist projects in the city. “Higher authorities have approved the projects to develop Hada and Shafa regions,” the governor told Al-Yaum Arabic daily.
The projects come in the wake of the Kingdom’s drive to promote domestic tourism. Located 2,000 meters above sea level, Taif is one of the country’s premier tourist destinations. Thousands of tourists and holiday-makers from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries spend the summer in the city which is known for its scenic beauty and invigorating climate.
The electricity sub-station to be opened on Wednesday will supply power to the people of Asheera and nearby villages of Faisaliya, Al-Mishaan, Umm Al-Doum, Dagheeja, Maran and Ridwan.
Fuad ibn Juwaid Al-Shuraiby, director general of the Saudi Electricity Company in the Makkah region, told Arab News that the new electricity projects in the region would require an investment of SR5 billion.
Municipal and Rural Affairs Minister Dr. Muhammad Al-Jarallah yesterday inspected the Prince Miteb project to supply drinking water to Turba, a suburban township in Taif. He also inspected a number of municipal projects in the township.
Taif Municipal Chairman Mahmoud Al-Mukhrej told the Okaz newspaper that the municipality had completed all preparations to welcome the crown prince. He said the municipality had renovated the city’s ancient wells established some 75 years ago.
Taif now covers a total area of about 800 hectares and houses more than 350,000 people. It is rich in archaeological sites that date back to the pre-Islamic era. The most famous of the historical sites is Souk Okaz, which was a forum for poets in one of the richest eras in the history of Arabic literature and culture. There are many pre-Islamic fortifications and old mosques in the city.
