RIYADH, 15 June 2003 — Efforts are under way to reduce congestion in the capital by establishing a metro system. The system, which will operate in two main areas of the capital, will be established by the Arriyadh Development Authority (ARD).

Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, a senior ARD official, told Arab News yesterday that the government body had reached a final decision regarding the areas where public transportation will be used in the capital.

The first phase will operate between Olaya and Batha districts and along Prince Abdullah Road, with Olaya-Batha being first. Both those areas have been approved by the development authority after debating the issue and making use of a study carried out on the project.

Light trains, in addition to buses, will replace the often dilapidated old mini-buses currently used by private owners to take passengers from the southern part of the city — the old downtown area — to the newer areas in the north.

The Olaya-Batha route is 25 km long. Passengers will be able to commute between the new cultural center to be established in the south to the new downtown Riyadh. The new city center is now home to two of the most modern and impressive skyscrapers in the world: Kingdom Tower and Al-Faisaliah Tower. The area is also home to the King Fahd National Library as well as many well-known shopping malls such as Aqariya, Olaya and Owais.

The routes will pass the Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, King Abdul Aziz Historical Center, as well as the commercial centers on Prince Faisal Road, such as Bin Sulaiyman Center and Batha malls, and the public transportation center in the city.

The second route is Prince Abdullah Road that links the east of the capital with the west, a distance of 13 km. The route will serve all facilities along the route, particularly areas of dense traffic congestion such as King Saud University, Prince Sultan University and the Ministry of Education, in addition to several commercial centers. The route may also serve Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University by bus, enabling passengers to go there from the metro stop.

According to studies, the best means of transportation in the current situation is light trains. They will travel on special railways constructed either alongside or in the middle of streets and will run on electricity, meaning that they will be environment-friendly.

The size of a light train will be 20-43 meters in length and 2.3 meters wide. It will travel at speeds of up to 65 km per hour. The train will travel inside the city area and along crowded streets. Traffic lights will be added at intersections so that vehicles stop and give way to the trains.

The workshop committee which discussed current public transportation in the capital recommended the first phase of the public transportation project. The committee also raised the issue of technical and administrative necessities required for the project to help implement it and manage it with the participation of the private sector.

The Arriyadh Development Authority approved the recommendations of the committee and an experimental public transportation project using appropriate methods which will link two parts of the city is scheduled for the near future.

The public, both Saudi and non-Saudi, are being encouraged to use the public transportation system instead of private cars. The aim is to minimize traffic problems in the capital.

Recent studies have shown that more than 90 percent of people in Riyadh use private vehicles to travel in the city and the project is designed to lower that figure. The project also aims at encouraging the private sector and decrease dependence on the public sector to implement and run the train system.

The public transportation system in Riyadh is one of many strategic projects being carried out by the Arriyadh Development Authority to develop the capital in the wake of its population explosion and the city’s expansion over the past decade.