Tourism & Hospitality | Friday 27 January, 2017 6:48 am |

 Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), launched the second phase of the Al-Sour district renovation project in Old Yanbu in the presence of Prince Faisal bin Salman, governor of Madinah and chairman of the Tourism Development Council, the mayor of Yanbu Engineer Mosaed Al-Salim, head of the Yanbu Municipality Fahad Al-Mash’aan, and a number of other officials, on Wednesday.
The second phase will refurbish 100 buildings over an area of 8,100 square meters, including 32 commercial buildings, six cultural buildings, 12 residential buildings and five administrative buildings. The project is funded by SABIC, ARAMCO, the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, and a number of other partners.
SCTH and project partners completed renovation and restoration of Al-Layl Market, one of the oldest markets in the kingdom. The market was reopened upon completion by the president of the SCTH and the governor of Madinah, allowing citizens to resume commercial activity after 50 years of inactivity.
The project is part of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque’s Program for Care of National Heritage, which is being carried out by the SCTH with support from King Salman himself.
The president of SCTH said the success of restoring life to the Al-Layl Market and Al-Sour District comes in line with directives of King Salman, who strongly believes in the urgency of focusing on national heritage. He praised King Salman’s national program aimed at restoring national heritage to the heart of citizens and the country.
He noted that the success of the first phase of the project was a result of sound coordination between authorities. He also pointed to the significance of the market and district, which serve as promising and attractive location for citizens to earn a decent living.
He also addressed the budget of the SCTH and Program for Cultural Heritage, which will allow for the construction of a new museum and resumption of work on museums that were halted last year due to budgetary constraints, as well as the investments in the tourism sector as part of the national transformation program.