Residents of the Malaz district in the Saudi capital have expressed their concern about the slow pace of work in the installation of electric lampposts in their streets resulting in traffic congestion.

“We know that this will eventually be for our benefit but work should be done at a faster pace in order to finish the project as soon as possible,” said the caretaker of one of the residential buildings near Sitteen Street.

He said that he saw workers of the company contracted to put up the lampposts at 2 a.m. on Thursday but they did not seem to be working.

“It’s cooler at night so more work can get done but in this case, the workers seemed to be doing nothing,” he complained. “When will the project be completed?” he asked in frustration.

He suggested that the contractor rotate his workers in shifts so that they could work 24 hours a day in order to finish the project.

“Since the project is urgent as it involves public safety and convenience, work should be done on weekends as well,” he stressed.

Ashraf, a resident, said that the diggings for the streetlights have closed off the areas for parking spots, causing the residents to park their cars in different locations far from their homes.

“This is worrying because my car is parked in an area which I think is not secure,” he said, adding that the local government should instruct the contractor to finish the project as soon as possible.

He said that aside from the lack of parking spots, there’s also the problem of passage.

“Before the diggings, one of the streets in the residential area was a two-way street. Now it has become a one-way street,” he said.

Municipalities in different cities of the Kingdom have taken up various beautification projects for the benefit of the residents. However, owing to the sweltering heat and the onset of the holy month of Ramadan, work has been delayed in many locations causing a great deal of inconvenience.