RIYADH, 9 July 2007 — Minister of Transport Jabara Al-Seraisry signed here yesterday contracts for 15 road projects with a cumulative value of over SR1.7 billion with Saudi companies in different parts of the Kingdom.
The projects include construction of two-lane highways, agricultural roads and service access lanes to improve road safety, help farmers in the movement of their produce to the market, and interconnect highways with the interior through the network of feeder roads.
The contracts were signed at a press conference attended by Deputy Minister of Transport Abdullah Al-Muqbil, senior government officials, and the CEOs of the contracting companies.
It was also announced that a third ring road in Riyadh has been proposed as part of a three-way project involving the ministry, the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) and the Riyadh Municipality. The new ring road, which will encircle the existing ring roads, is intended to relieve traffic congestion in the capital.
Spelling out the details of the projects, the minister said the expenditure would be met from this year’s budget. The projects will be implemented within a time frame ranging from two to three years. When completed, they will strengthen the road network in Hail, Makkah, Madinah, Jizan, Qassim, Al-Jouf, Arras, Tabuk and the Eastern Province.
The biggest road network (130km) linking Al-Shuqaiq with Jizan will cost around SR600 million. Abdullah ibn Nasser Al-Jarallah Est. will implement it over a period of 36 months. The smallest project relates to the construction of an agricultural road in the Tabuk Province and will be undertaken by Al-Ayouni Est. at a cost of SR24.9 million over a two-year period.
Speaking to newsmen after the signing ceremony, Al-Seraisry said 95 percent of the projects earmarked in this year’s budget have been completed. The rest will be wound up within two months.
In reply to a question, deputy minister Al-Muqbil pointed out that the ministry’s budgetary allocation of SR8 billion was enough to meet the cost of laying an 800 km network of highway.
Referring to road projects in the Riyadh region, Al-Muqbil said work on the construction of two bridges connecting west Ring Road with Shifa is in progress and will be completed by the end of next year. As for the East Ring Road, the first stage involving the asphalting of the road has been finished, he added.
