Tuesday, 10 April 2007

RIYADH (SG): Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is scheduled to launch on Tuesday a number of infrastructure, health care, road, housing, recreation, and public services projects worth SR 118.4 billion in the capital, the Arabic daily newspaper Al-Riyadh reported Monday.

The projects include the construction of the first media production city, a cultural center for women, expansion of King Fahd National Library, an international car auction center and a new courts headquarters.

Another project to receive funding is a plan to construct new networks to carry water to Hotat Bani Tamim Governorate, as well as electricity to Hotat Bani Tamim and Wadi Al-Dawasir.

More than 1,500 kilometers of water networks will be constructed in the region. Another 1,500 kilometers of sanitary drainage networks will also come under construction.

Desalination projects include the Ras Al-Zour Plant, which can process one million cubic meters of water and 1000 megawatts of electricity at a time. A project is also underway to carry water from Ras Al-Zour to Riyadh.

More than 1,000 education projects alone, covering plans from 2006 and 2007, will have funding under the new decree.

Higher education projects include a university complex in Al-Kharj, community colleges in Shaqra, Al-Majma'ah and Al-Zulfi and a new headquarters for the Ministry of Higher Education in Riyadh. Several girls' colleges in Riyadh, including a college of arts, colleges of education, a teacher-training college for women, a college of home economics and a social services college will also come under development. Economic projects include the King Abdullah Financial Center, an Information Technology and Telecommunications City and a new building for the General Organization for Retirement to be located on Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Musa'ed Bin Juluwi Street.

Other projects will benefit the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Riyadh Construction Company, the royal commissions for Jubail and Yanbu, the Saudi Industries Company and Dallah Al-Baraka Group, among others.

© The Saudi Gazette 2007