Speedy Jeddah public transport project urged

By Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Participants in the first meeting for investors in the transportation sector held Monday at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry called on speeding up the public transport project in Jeddah which will include railway, bus transportation, a seaport transport line, vehicles at Jeddah Corniche and a suspension bridge in Abhor. The project expected completion is after seven years. The participants highlighted the different projects that will see light in the city over the coming years. Hassan Dahlan, acting secretary-general of the JCCI, stressed on the importance of public-private collaboration in the transportation sector. He added that this sector has investments that exceed SR80 million. The JCCI, he said, has 6 committees that are specified for the various types of transportations. He noted that these committees have specified the challenges facing investment in this sector and are seeking government bodies’ support. The head of public transportation committee at JCCI Jafar ibn Aboud said that the public is keen to see the new public transportation project valued at SR62 billion and will be constructed on three stages. The first will be for SR25.5 billion, the second for SR19 billion and the last stage will be for 17.5 billion. The project includes metro that will have four lines of a total of 114 kilometers. There will also be a bus transportation project that includes 500 buses. This project is expected to provide 39, 000 job opportunities over the next 10 years. Some 500 jobs will be offered in the administration sector, 500 in maintenance and 1,500 in the railway car construction. The representative of ELM Company, Majid Abdul Salam, said they provide innovative electronic solutions, “we managed to provide SR13 billion and 300 million working hours last year.”