JEDDAH, 22 October 2006 — The Jeddah Municipality will soon sign contracts with specialized companies to establish 10 new flyovers and underpasses to facilitate traffic in the city, according to Mayor Adel Faqeeh. “The real solution to traffic congestions in Jeddah is to improve the city’s road network,” he said and disclosed plans to sign contracts to implement the new projects before the end of this year.
Faqeeh said beginning next year the municipality would introduce a new system to ensure that contactors keep roads as they were before with water and sewage pipelines and telephone cables. “An international team of experts is currently conducting a study on main Jeddah roads including the Corniche Road to make optimum use of them after resolving their shortcomings,” the mayor said.
The new projects will be carried out at the intersections of Prince Majed Street with Hera Street, Majed with Rowdah, Majed with Sari, Majed with Prince Sultan ibn Salman, Prince Muhammad Street (former Tahlia Street) with King Fahd Street, Muhammad with Prince Miteb Street, Fahd with Baladiya, King Street with Quraish, Makarona with Hera, Makarona with Sultan ibn Salman, and Makkah Road with Iskan and Jamia Streets.
The experts have noticed that there is a lack of parking areas in the city and have advised that new supermarkets should be instructed to provide adequate parking space.
Faqeeh acknowledged that there are 50 residential districts in the city whose layouts are disorganized mixtures of commercial, residential and industrial areas. The city, he said, was working to implement more organized zoning in these neighborhoods.
“We are currently conducting detailed studies to improve the situation of these districts. This is not an easy job and will take a lot of time,” he said. The municipality has embarked on a major project to develop Jeddah’s old airport into a world class city. Faqeeh recently signed an agreement with Hok International, an American consultancy firm, to design the multibillion dollar project. The project includes educational institutions, hotels, residential apartments, recreational centers, conference halls, museums, mosques, playgrounds, government offices and a railway station. The project will be carried out on a vast area of 12 million square meters.
“The private sector will participate with the municipality in carrying out the project,” said Abdul Qader Othman Ameer, assistant mayor of Jeddah. The municipality owns five million square meters of the land earmarked for the project. UAE real estate giant Emaar Properties, Al-Oula Group and Inmaiya Company have forged a coalition to build the world class city, which is expected to change the face of Jeddah.
During the past 40 years, Jeddah’s population has exploded, especially after the construction of the first airport in Sharafiya. This led to the development of residential areas around the airport. During the past years new residential districts have sprouted as the city expanded 50 kilometers to the north, 25 kilometers to the south and 15 kilometers to the east of Jeddah’s historic center (Balad).
