By Ibrahim Al-Hussein

QATIF — Saudi Arabia has nearly completed the modernization and redevelopment project aimed at turning the town of Awamiya in the eastern governorate of Qatif into a model neighborhood.

The project to redevelop the town reached 98 percent completion and encompasses an area of 180,000 square meters at a cost of SR239 million.

The emir of the Eastern Province laid the project’s foundation stone in February 2018 with the aim of turning the town from an area of random buildings to one that represents the past, present and the vision of the future.

The development includes a public market, a gymnasium for children and a women's club, as well as cafeterias, restaurants and banquet halls for men and women.

The official spokesman for the Eastern Province governorate Mohammed Al-Sufyan said the pace of work in the project is accelerating, in addition to doubling the effort to increase the rate of completion by increasing all resources, working around the clock and raising the number of suppliers to fast-track production and installation of precast concrete elements in order to hand over of the project as soon as possible.

“The project consists of several elements, especially a cultural center spread over an area of 5,323 square meters. It is the heart of the project and consists of three buildings with a large umbrella covering the main square,” he said.

“The center will have a library, a conference hall and exhibitions, as well as heritage towers. The area is designed as a visual reference that guides visitors to their destination and imitates the architectural history of the area. These towers are characterized by thick mud walls with narrow windows," Al-Sufyan said.

According to Saudi columnist and writer Hassan Al-Mustafa, who is also a member of the Al-Arabiya team, the project represents a model by which government achievements can be measured and a different way in solving security problems.

“On the other hand, the project is not only a security solution or the tracking of armed groups and sleeper cells, but tackling the issue through social and economic development, and the impact of the place and its aesthetics on people's thinking and mood. The provision of services and development projects would ease tensions and make extremist thought isolated,” Al-Mustafa said. — Al-Arabiya English