Improvement in Makkah highway facilities sought

A team in Makkah province has prepared a detailed study for a project to improve the gas stations and rest houses located along the highways leading to Makkah.
The team presented its study to Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who in turn recommended the formation of a working group comprised of the secretariats, Transport Ministry, and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).
The group will select sites for the establishment of service centers with an area ranging from 10 to 20 square kilometers with a minimum of four sites to be developed on the highways leading to Makkah in each direction.
The study included a number of recommendations to be implemented under the directions of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who emphasized on taking written pledges from the owners of current stations to develop these places properly. He also stressed on giving them a deadline to improve services and identify an administrator who shall be held accountable in the event of a lack of commitment to improve the services provided.
The study recommended calling for an urgent meeting with the Albalad Alameen and Jeddah Holding Company for Development (JHCD) to develop their participation mechanism in the construction and operation of service stations along the highways.
The next meeting is scheduled after a month.
The work is going on within two tracks. The first is improvement, which will help the current stations to improve their situation in cooperation with the municipalities. It also calls for the owners of the stations to give them a complete picture of what is required to improve their performance. The second track consists of comprehensive development, including of the locations of the service centers.
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal had previously formed a working group to study the service, health, environmental and urban aspects of fuel stations along the highways headed by the province’s assistant undersecretary for development, and the memberships of director general of roads and transport in the region.
Representatives of the secretariats and the SCTA executive director in Makkah province also took part in it.
The new procedures come at a time when the Ministry of Transport did not yet start implementing the study it prepared a few months ago on the development project submitted by a private company to establish a series of road rests on highways to improve the conditions of gas stations and increase the welfare of the traveler.
This project will see the development of several services, including hotel rooms, restaurants, parking lots, as well as centers of the Civil Defense and the Red Crescent. It will also encompass the development of new designs for mosques at road breaks, service centers for cars and trucks, and a helipad for emergency situations.