JEDDAH, 22 May — The Council of Ministers, which met yesterday under the chairmanship of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, approved the new rules and conditions set out by the Interior Ministry to open new cooking gas filling stations in the country.
The rules were earlier endorsed by the Shoura Council, Information Minister Dr. Fuad Al-Farsi said after the Cabinet session at Al-Salam Palce here.
The new rules concerning gas filling stations are very specific. New gas stations should be located away from residential areas and the site should be selected only with the knowledge and approval of the Higher Authority for Industrial Security. “It should have enough area and should have a security zone of not less than 800 meters from the area where the gas cylinders are stored,” the bylaw said. The Gas and Industrialization Company should constantly supervise the station.
With regard to existing stations, the bylaw said if the security zone is less than 200 meters from the gas cylinders, the company should coordinate with the Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry to acquire sufficient land around the station.
The Cabinet instructed the authority to make sure that the company followed the rules and regulations.
Farsi said the Cabinet endorsed two agreements with Argentina for cooperation in youth welfare activities and sports.
He said the meeting also authorized Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal or his deputy to hold talks with Tanzanian officials to sign an agreement for cooperation in economic, commercial, investment, technical, sports and youth welfare areas.
The Cabinet decided to host the headquarters of the GCC Auditors Council. It also set up a new board of directors for the Irrigation and Drainage Corporation in Ahsa with Dr. Abdul Rahman ibn Ibrahim Al-Moaqqel, Abdullah ibn Muhammad Ababaten and Abdul Aziz ibn Suleiman Al-Afalek as the new board members.
Agriculture and Water Minister Dr. Abdullah Muammar is its chairman of the board which has a three-year term. The present members will continue on the board until the new board takes over.
The Cabinet appointed Abdul Aziz ibn Naser Al-Fareedi, Khaled ibn Salem Al-Shammari, Sami ibn Ahmad Talmasani and Omar ibn Saleh Al-Amri as members of a preliminary committee for settling labor disputes. It also appointed Muhammad ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Mukhrej as chairman of Taif Municipality and Muhammad ibn Suleiman Al-Muhammadi as a geologist at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
