We in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are proud of our great achievements. With an aim of ending the depressing financial situation in the country, for the past three decades Saudi Arabia has maintained a system of executing ambitious plans to develop a strong infrastructure and thus embarked on some huge economic and industrial projects. It was due to this that many industrial cities were built across the length and breadth of the Kingdom.
The most important among them was the Jubail industrial city — which is one of the best industrial cities around the world and has been instrumental in transforming the Eastern Province into the capital of Gulf industries as keenly attested to by Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, the governor of the region. The industrial city is a massive complex that includes petrochemical plants, an iron works and a number of smaller companies, not to mention the Royal Saudi Naval Base.
I found this introductory paragraph rather necessary as a preliminary piece of information before diverting readers’ attention to a huge number of e-mails I have recently received. Many people are complaining that for years they have been suffering difficulties on the Dammam-Jubail Highway where contractors have damaged the road and the authorities have never bothered to undertake repairs.
All of the complaints emphasized people’s struggle with one major problem. People that use the Dammam-Jubail Highway say they are frightened to use the road, especially at night. They are forced to pass through narrow diversions with barrels placed on the sides that reach up to 10 kilometers in certain areas.
The alarming thing is that two thirds of the period designated to complete the project has passed and only 20 percent of the road has been fixed and paved. The manner by which the road has had tarmac laid is not even consistent which makes drivers suffer even more. Not to mention the fact that this has caused countless accidents in the past.
The governor of the Eastern Province sensed the importance of finding a solution to the problem and so called for the contractor and asked him and the supervisors of the project to present a monthly progress report. It makes me wonder, whether we always need higher authorities to intervene on behalf of ordinary people to ensure that subordinates complete their duties and fulfill tasks handed to them.
On a personal note, I know the reason behind this horrible failure and the delay in completing the road quickly and efficiently. I sensed while talking to one of the supervisors that carelessness is the main reason behind the project being delayed and the occurrence of fatal accidents each day.
I call on the minister of transportation to form a technical committee that handles the performance of contractors and evaluate the work that is being carried out on this road. They must take into account the accidents happening everyday because of the terrible conditions of the road and the lack of professionalism of those undertaking the job in completing it. The committee must identify who is responsible for whatever is happening on the road. They should identify the tasks and duties of the official sector supervising the project. The minister could ask the committee to give their analysis by driving on the road and examining it.
Any civil engineer knows how long does a 100-kilometer-long road take to be paved and ready for use. We know that the contractor works eight hours everyday with a very limited number of laborers and without supervision.
