JEDDAH, 27 May 2003 — The Interior Ministry has constructed 2,400 kilometers of roads as part of a 5,200-km “security belt” project to enhance the efficiency of its border patrols, according to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News.
The project, which now covers northeastern and northwestern parts of the country, will be officially inaugurated tomorrow by Interior Minister Prince Naif.
The paved border road begins at Al-Khafji on the Kingdom’s border with Kuwait. Experts from the border guard maintenance department are carrying out the project.
“Our staff are qualified to international standards,” Capt. Hamoud Al-Anazi, head of the field unit for the project, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Anazi highlighted the strategic importance of the project, which will help the quick deployment of Saudi security forces and military units in emergency situations.
He said the unit’s officers encountered a number of difficulties in carrying out the project as the roads pass through rocky and rough terrain and mountainous areas.
“Now border guards can patrol easily and move from one place to another quickly,” Anazi said. The project, which cost SR200 million, will also help prolong the life span of border guard vehicles.
Prince Naif was scheduled to begin an inspection tour of the Tabuk region yesterday, during which he is to open the new headquarters of the Tabuk governorate.
