Potholes ... a never-ending eyesore?

RIYADH – The potholes caused by excavation works and poor maintenance continue to disrupt the landscaping of main streets. Businesses located near to the never-ending excavation and maintenance continue to suffer and sustain great losses because the contractors have failed to complete the project implementation on time. Residents of the neighborhoods continue to suffer as well every time they get in or out of their neighborhoods, Al-Riyadh daily reported. Contracting companies the world over compensate businesses that have suffered from delayed projects. Moreover, contractors are not allowed to carry out excavation works during rush hours and peak times so that businesses do not suffer any losses. Unfortunately, excavation works for installation of underground water pipes should not take more than four hours but in the Kingdom they can take more than 20 days. Losses Dr. Omar Bahamam, the dean of Planning School, King Saud University, said delayed implementation of projects can make shops incur great losses and in some cases drive shops out of business, especially the new ones. “The negative effect on businesses located on the street where excavation works are being implemented should be taken into consideration. Contracting companies should be required to implement the project in stages so that it does not disrupt business activities on the street. Let us not forget that every shop that goes bankrupt as a result of such delayed projects will have a negative impact on the whole economy,” he pointed out. Absence of coordination Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Qahtani, professor of human resources development and strategic planning in King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, called upon concerned authorities to work together to protect the interests of shops that get affected by delayed projects. Such shops should be compensated through insurance companies, he said, noting that the absence of strict monitoring has made some contracting companies take advantage of the situation and delay the implementation of their projects at the expense of the interests of shop owners. Al-Riyadh met some of the shop owners who sustained losses because of delayed projects. Muhammad Ibrahim, who owns a bakery, said the sales went down dramatically shortly after the contracting company on the street started excavation works. Because of that, almost all workers in the bakery left their jobs searching for better opportunities because he could not pay their salaries, after sales decreased to a large extent. Maher Ali, who owns a real estate office, said nobody comes to his office searching for an apartment for rent or a land to buy because there is no parking space in the street. He hopes that the authorities do something about this situation and look at the damage and loss of shop owners.