SAUDI ARABIA

Muaisem residents question municipality over bridge project stalled for five years

December 23, 2017

Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — The residents of Muaisem area of Makkah are questioning the reasons for a delay of more than five years in completing the bridge project in the district at the interjunction of the fourth ring road.

They have called for quick implementation of this vital project that will link Muaisem with the holy sites and Sail Road. The project contractor has blocked the interjunction with cement barriers causing problems to motorists. The cement blocks have damaged a number of vehicles.

The Traffic Department in cooperation with the contracting company has constructed detour before the bridge to divert vehicles coming from Sail Road and Adel Road.

The municipality had conducted a survey of buildings near the Muaisem Bridge and demolished some of them. It allocated SR1 billion for the project.

Work began in August 2012 and was supposed to have completed within 30 months.

Abdullah Al-Khoraisi said the municipality once again failed to pick the right company to implement a project.

“For the past five years, Muaisem residents have been facing a lot of problems due to digging work and installation of cement blocks as part of the project. I must ask how long this would continue,” he said while speaking to Al-Madina Arabic daily.

Mahmoud Al-Aseeri emphasized the significance of the project but said, “We see only a few number of workers. The slow implementation has caused financial losses that cannot be estimated especially for car showrooms and wedding halls near the project site.”

He said the authorities should make an estimate of losses suffered by companies and give them compensations. “They should also punish the parties that caused project delay without any convincing reason,” he added.

“The delay will continue as long as the offenders escape without punishment,” Al-Aseeri said.

Saleh Al-Shadwi criticized the municipality for awarding projects to the contracting companies that make the lowest bids.

“This mechanism has proved to be a failure,” he said. “We should select the most capable and efficient contracting company to implement our projects,” he added.

Al-Shadwi said the silence on project delay would have a negative impact on the project as well as on Muaisem residents, who want a quick implementation of the project.

Osama Zaitouni, spokesman for the municipality, did not respond to inquiries by Al-Madina.

The government has paid billions of riyals in compensations to acquire land for various projects in Makkah but most projects remain stalled now.

People are asking the reasons for the disruption of many government projects in different parts of the Kingdom.

There are a number of wedding halls near the interjunction, which witnessed several fatal accidents before the work on the bridge project started.


December 23, 2017
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