In the wake of a number of complaints, the Department of Roads at the Jeddah Mayoralty will soon launch 32 projects to re-asphalt the city's streets. The municipal council of Jeddah said recently that it had contacted the Jeddah Mayoralty several times regarding complaints from citizens about cracks and potholes in the streets. The council wants to work with the mayoralty to find radical solutions to this problem. The council also wants the mayoralty to give it the power to seek the help of international companies. Each municipality should be responsible for its district, it said. Jeddah residents are blaming the authorities for the poor state of the roads. Hamad Al-Ghanmi said the Jeddah Mayoralty signed contracts with unqualified companies to re-asphalt the streets. “Most Jeddah streets are full of potholes which only benefit car repair shops,” he said. Adil Al-Qahtani, a citizen, said that ordinary people continue to suffer. “Our suffering continues on Jeddah's streets. I can't help but ask myself who's benefiting from squandering public money and signing contracts with unqualified companies.” Meanwhile, informed sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the Jeddah Mayoralty wants to give international companies a chance to compete for the city's nine cleaning contracts. It has, therefore, postponed its tender process until these companies can study the cleaning contracts. The city has encountered a number of problems with cleaning companies in the past including the numbers of staff, garbage trucks and workers. The new date for the issuing of the tenders will be announced at a later stage by the Jeddah Mayoralty. __
