“The main reason for the delay was the discovery of service lines for water, electricity and telephone, which were not mentioned in the contracts. These service lines had to be rerouted from the area before implementing the project. There are also traffic requirements to ensure the smooth flow of vehicles,” the municipality said.

The agency for construction and projects at the municipality said it would coordinate with service firms as well as the traffic department to implement the project within a timeframe. “We’ll speed up work on the projects by employing more people in order to cover up the delay,” an official at the agency said.

Meanwhile, municipality branch offices in various parts of Jeddah will intensify inspection of restaurants across the city to ensure they supply hygienic food and do not cook with used cooking oil. The municipality has observed that some foreign workers collect used cooking oil in order to use it again.

“There are panels to conduct continuous inspections,” said Ali Al-Qahtani, undersecretary at the municipality for services. Officials have been asked to carry necessary equipment to check the quality of foodstuffs, he added. “Our officials will also check the source of cooking oil used by the restaurants and its quality.”