“King Abdullah’s return in good health is in fact a Divine response to people’s prayers for his health,” President of Najran University Muhammad Al-Hasan said in statement to the Saudi Press Agency.
The king is aware of the role of higher education for the balanced development of a nation and this awareness prompted him to open 18 new universities in different provinces of the Kingdom, bringing the number of universities from eight a couple of years ago to 24 last year, said Al-Hasan.
President of Jazan University Muhammad Al-Hayaza also expressed his happiness at the safe and healthy return of the ruler of the country.
President of King Saud University Abdullah Al-Othman said citizens in every province have been experiencing the change in the country brought about by the large number of developmental projects launched under the initiative of the king.
“More than 24 percent of the national budget for the current year has been allocated for new educational projects with the aim of building the nation with manpower development,” he said.
While expressing happiness over the return of King Abdullah on behalf of himself and workers in the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, SWCC Gov. Fehaid Al-Shareef noted that the budget allocation for the SWCC in the current year reached SR14.9 billion.
“Thirty-six desalination plants manufacture three million cubic meters of potable water and 6,000 megawatts of electricity daily. It has constructed a 3,200-km-long supply network apart from 147 reservoirs with a capacity of eight million cubic meters of drinking water,” he said.
Meanwhile, a group of paragliders flew 55 kilometers from Jazan to Farasan Islands to mark the return of the king.
The event organized under the aegis of Jazan Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Naser, included many aerial displays at Jazan beach on Wednesday.
The planes had to cover a distance of 55 kilometers to the island from the mainland carrying “a message of affection and appreciation to the king of humanity.”
Hail Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsen said in a statement that King Abdullah made the Kingdom an Islamic model, especially by throwing the doors of dialogue wide open. “The developments in wide-ranging fields achieved in all provinces in the Kingdom are proof of the genuine desire of the king to bring prosperity to all citizens across the Kingdom,” the prince said.
Chairman of the General Housing Authority Showaish Al-Dowaihi said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency on Thursday that the king had issued an order granting SR15 million for the corporation so that Saudi citizens do not face any obstacle in building their own houses.
He said the authority would make all efforts to speed up the housing projects.
