Cabinet OKs SRO, PTA merger

RIYADH: The Cabinet in its meeting on Monday announced it had taken several key decisions.

These included authorizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and interior minister, to hold discussions with Azerbaijan on civil defense cooperation.
The Cabinet was also briefed on the joint statement issued by the fifth meeting of the Saudi-Egyptian Coordination Council held in Riyadh and welcomed the signing of several agreements aimed at boosting bilateral relations.
The Cabinet approved the merger of the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO) and the Public Transport Authority to form the Public Transport Authority (PTA). The PTA will have a board of directors led by the transport minister and members representing the interior, finance, transport, municipal and rural affairs, economy and planning, and commerce and industry ministries. It would also have three representatives from the private sector.
The Cabinet also approved the formation of a committee dealing with transport in the education sector, which would have the mandate of ensure safe and reliable transport, and the employment of Saudis. The committee would comprise officials from the interior, education, labor, and municipal and rural affairs ministries.
The Cabinet approved the establishment of an organizational unit at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs known as the National Urban Observatory that would carry out comparative studies on the state of provinces and regions, with this data made available to other government departments and agencies to improve service delivery.