Prince Turki, who is also chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Society for Environment, said in statement following the signing of agreement of cooperation between the society and the Ministry of Water and Electricity on in Jeddah on Saturday.
The prince said many projects are underway to combat desertification in some parts of the Kingdom.
“SR5 billion has been allocated for the anti-desertification projects and SR1 billion has already been spent,” the prince said. He added that the projects include farming and rectification of the damages caused desertification in selected locations in the Northern Border Province.
The prince also said that no new disease related to the Gulf War has been registered over the past 20 years.
Speaking on the occasion Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen said more than SR7 billion has been allocated for the existing sewage projects in Jeddah.
Linking of new projects in central and northern parts of Jeddah started two months ago, the minister said. Each of the Airport sewage treatment plant and Al-Khomrah plant has a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters. Another 500,000 cubic meter plant, the largest in the Kingdom, will be constructed shortly, he added.
He said the thermal system in two Jeddah plants would be replaced by reverse osmosis system, which does not release vapor, in two years. He added environment in Jeddah was free from sulfur contamination that causes acid rains.
