Study on transportation cities nears completion

Abdul Rahman Al-Utaishan, member of the national committee for transportation, expects the accomplishment of a study for establishing transportation cities, which will serve 120,000 trucks, within a month after which it will be submitted to the competent bodies for further procedures.
“The draft of the study concentrates on the establishment of these cities as a first step, with the partnership of three ministries,” said Al-Utaishan.
He explained that the national committee for transportation studied the project, and is now in the process of developing the content of the study and adding essential data that the three concerned ministries — transportation, commerce, and the municipality and rural affairs — will need in this regard.
“There is an urgent need for such cities that will include maintenance sites, storage warehouses, mini plants for spare parts that the trucks may need, and lodgings for workers,” he said.
The transportation cities, he pointed out, will be established at the terminals and entrances of the city. It will represent a hub for lodging and grouping of the trucks, as most drivers complain that no specific location is allocated for their rest and sleep.
"We should take into account that the traffic department put a ban on trucks not to enter cities in defined hours. So they line up long hours in waiting", he explained.
Investors in the transportation sector demanded last year the allocation of land to establish a modern, organized transportation city provided with all kinds of services to go in pace with this developed and hyper activity.
The study suggests establishing such transportation cities in the main cities and at border outlets that witness congestions. Once these cities operate, it will minimize the traffic jams inside the Kingdom's cities, and the parking problems when trucks park in residential areas and on roads.
Utaishan said the project was delayed because the National Transport Authority lagged in its launch. He added that the suggested system emphasized on the importance of the collaboration of all parties concerned such as insurance companies, customs clearance offices, road directorate, traffic department and land transportation companies.