The Saudi government has contracted four local construction companies to build two new roads valued at $189 million. The roads have a target date of completion set for 2006, reported SPA.
The project’s 10 separate contracts were awarded to Al-Jazeera Company, Abdul Aali Al-Ajami Company, Al-Injaz Trading & Contracting Company and the Arabian Contracting Company.
The new roads will have a total length of 3,950 kilometers, linking the Kingdom’s major cities with its more remote provinces. The first road will network the central province of Qassim with Hail in the north, stretching 185 kilometers. The second road will widen the 282-kilometer passage connecting the Kingdom’s eastern border to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia has undergone massive development in its road and highway system in recent years. Between 1980 and 1985 paved roads expanded at an annual average rate of 15.8 percent. By 1995, the Saudi road network reached 95.249 kilometers, and in early 1992, there were about 60 road-building projects in progress. By 1999, there were over 150,000 kilometers of paved and non-paved roads in Saudi Arabia. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
