Since the first economic boom of the early 1970s, the Kingdom had seen many mega projects shaping the face of the country - huge airports, hospitals, roads, industrial plants, sports stadiums and many other facilities that made life easier for all the Saudis. The development phase that kicked off then continues till today. We, however, tend to ignore one very important aspect i.e. the proper maintenance of projects costing billions of dollars.
As a matter of fact, be it a small project or huge one its upkeep is very important. It extends the lifespan of projects and they stay in their original shape. With today’s volatile oil prices, it is very important for Saudi Arabia to evaluate any future mega projects. Mega projects need tremendous amount of continued electrical supplies, huge amount of water and year-round daily maintenance. It is true that many rules have been introduced and implemented regarding the use of energy-saving materials such as state-of-the-art building insulations but it is better to go for smaller but efficient buildings. We have constructed huge airports but many parts of the airports remain unused. It is true that construction of such facilities is planned keeping in mind future needs but it is also prudent to build smaller projects that can be expanded later.
Nowadays, we see many major highways that are in need for maintenances and many public facilities, which are deteriorating even though billions of dollars were spent on them. We know that very badly-needed projects such as water drainage system was not planned keeping in mind heavy rains in many parts of the Kingdom. In addition to this, there is no planned maintenance for these projects. The most noticeable thing in today’s mega projects is the delay in their completion. There are many projects these days, which are still under way for the past several years. If a project is left untouched for many years, it becomes more difficult to finish. Above all it even becomes unsafe because the materials used for construction deteriorates over time.
The government has allocated billions of riyals for future projects and if the projects are not finished on time, then the billions allocated for it will lose some of its value due to inflation and such projects will only become sources of annoyance to the Saudis and all the people who live and work in the Kingdom. We often see streets remaining closed for long period of times. And once the project is finished, we never pay much attention to its maintenance.
Maintenance is not only good for the infrastructure but the services associated with it are one of the major sectors and venues of employment for many of the young in any country. Saudi Arabia has many vocational training institutes around the Kingdom and it is important to upgrade the curricula of these institutes to match the labor market needs. Saudi young men and women can be educated more about the importance of the field of maintenance and can be trained to do these jobs. Many rules have to be introduced regarding the minimum wage for these jobs, so young Saudis will be encouraged to take up those jobs. It is also very important to note that citizens of Saudi Arabia are responsible for the appearance of all public places by keeping them clean. We spend billions of dollars on mega projects so it is very important to keep them properly maintained.
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@mulhim12
