Business & Money | Monday 23 January, 2017 5:19 am |

A ministerial committee supervising public transport in Makkah region offered three public transport projects in Jeddah with the participation of the private sector.

The projects include the Corniche Tram which is parallel to Jeddah’s Northern Corniche Road, the Marine Taxi that links Sharm Obhur with central and northern Jeddah, and Obhur Bridge which links north Obhur with south Obhur.

The ministerial committee meeting was chaired by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Emir of Makkah.

Prince Khaled, who is also the Chairman of the Ministerial Committee Supervising Public Transport in the region, stressed the importance of the public transport project in Makkah and Jeddah, as it provides an easy service to pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Sunday.

He also stressed the importance of carrying out public transport project in Makkah so as to facilitate the movement for Haj and Umrah pilgrims and worshipers to the Grand Mosque and upgrade the services provided to them in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Prince Khaled said the importance of the project in Jeddah must be taken into consideration, as Jeddah is the gateway to the two holy mosques and the first arrival station for the Guests of Allah.

The meeting was attended by the ministers of Municipal and Rural Affairs Abdullateef Al-Asheikh, Haj and Umrah Dr. Muhammad Saleh Benten, Transport Suleiman Al-Hamdan, and Finance Muhammad Al-Jadaan.

It is noteworthy that the Council of Ministers announced in 1434H the approval of two public transport projects in Makkah and Jeddah. A ministerial committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Emir of Makkah Province to follow up on the study of the project, planning and carrying them out.

The public transport project in Makkah is divided into two sections; first, metro service for Haj and Umrah pilgrims around the year, and second, network of fast transport buses. This is provided with 60 stations to serve the Grand Mosque. It covers the areas not covered by the train network.

The public transport project in Jeddah comprises a train and a bus network.

Thirty percent of the design work for Jeddah public transport has been completed. Five sites have been allocated for metro stations. They are at Al-Bay’a Square in downtown Jeddah, intersection between Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz (Tahlia) Street and Madinah Road, at Kilo 10 on Old Jeddah-Makkah Road, and a station at each of Aziz Mall and Al-Arab Mall.