JEDDAH, 29 October 2007 — The soon-to-be signed SR900 million Jeddah cleaning projects are expected to increase the level of cleanliness in Jeddah by 80 percent, Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakieh said yesterday, adding that the projects include a citywide public awareness campaign.
Fakieh, speaking to the press on the first day of the Cleaning Projects Forum at the Jeddah InterContinental Hotel, said, “The new city dump is due to fully operate in three months and the delay of operation is due to a lack of financial allocation for the final stage of the project.”
He added that the new city dump is surrounded by a nine-kilometer concrete wall and has three main gates, four vehicle scales, two control rooms equipped with computers and monitoring units, and a number of electricity generators providing the entire site with electricity until it is properly connected to the power grid.
Khalid Aqil, deputy mayor for services, said that the Cleaning Projects Forum is important in outlining solutions to previous mistakes, and in coming up with new ideas and procedures that would put the city and its residents on the right path toward making Jeddah clean.
The forum also tackled the critical issue of the transition period in which cleaning companies change. In 2002, when a new cleaning company was introduced in Jeddah, rubbish remained uncollected for days on end.
In relation to this, Aqil said that the problem has been solved. “The municipality is signing contracts through well-thoughtout and strict rules that would ensure a smooth flow of work and a fast transition,” he said.
Muhammad Al-Tamimi, general supervisor of municipality branches in Jeddah, said that the branches would play a critical role in the upcoming cleaning projects. “All municipality branches would be supported with trained monitoring officials, who would report the work of cleaning companies to ensure a quality outcome,” he said.
