Service centers likely for female workers

Officials are studying the possibility of creating service centers for female workers in the women’s industrial cities that are currently under construction. The service centers will include daycare centers, as well as a shopping, fitness and business complex, said Abdulllah Al-Fassam, project director at the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon).
“Our biggest challenge,” he said, “is to include service centers inside these industrial parks.”
Al-Fassam said the industrial sector is now attracting a large segment of women, adding that the next phase is to improve the conditions and environment of work for women. His statement came as he addressed a large gathering of women attending a forum on women’s work week, organized by the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“A second challenge is the lack of public transportation for women. We are discussing with the private sector means of facilitating transportation for female employees to parks. For the interim period, public buses will transport them from the factories to their houses. This remains a make-shift solution until an integrated transportation system is established in urban areas,” he added.
Commenting on the pace of construction in industrial cities, Al-Fassam responded: “We built 40 prefabricated factories in 2012, while plans are under way to construct 200 more factories by the end of 2013. We intend to build 1,000 industrial complexes in five years.”
He justified the use of prefabricated material in view of their cost-effectiveness.
About women’s employment in the three main cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, he said: “Women here are still more interested in working in the fields of medical and pharmaceutical businesses. Next, they tend to choose to work in food, textiles and jewelry.”