DAMMAM, 5 January 2007 — Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, will attend a function here tomorrow marking the opening of the headquarters of Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Program for Youth Development.
The building will also house the Eastern Province Youth Club, according to a press statement issued by the office of the Eastern Province Governor Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd yesterday.
The building, spread over 7,400 square meters, has been built in line with the latest architectural standards.
The youth program aims to tackle the problems faced by Saudi youths and also focuses on the development of their skills — intellectually, physically, culturally and socially.
It also aims at developing their skills in sports. Prince Muhammad launched the program in view of the increasing number of young Saudi graduates looking for jobs and related social problems. The program, which was originally launched seven years ago under the name Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Program for Training and Employing Saudi Youth, has helped a large number of educated youth find suitable jobs.
The crown prince is scheduled to inaugurate on Sunday development programs at the King Fahd Military City in Dhahran and Prince Sultan Square.
The crown prince who arrived in the Eastern Province on Monday attributed the success of this year’s Haj to the sincere efforts of the government and non-governmental agencies that took part in providing various services to the pilgrims. The crown prince also said that studies were under way for further expansion of the Holy Haram including the expansion of the area between the two hills of Safa and Marwa. The viability of running electric trains between Mina and Arafat in order to resolve the traffic problems experienced during the Haj period is also under consideration.
Prince Sultan said a few skyscrapers are being built in the Mina Valley to see if the experiment would be a success so that more such buildings could be constructed for housing pilgrims during Haj.
