Faisal, Emir of the Makkah region, has announced the beginning of the permanent solutions projects for rain and floodwater drainage in Jeddah. He made the announcement during a tour of Umm Al-Khair Dam Wednesday. The projects will complement the urgent projects in preventing floods that routinely devastate the region. Prince Khaled announced that the consultant group Eikom Company are finishing their work which will allow companies to submit their bids for the contracts. He said, “The details will be published successively and will show that work on the Jeddah projects is continuing ceaselessly.” He said, “Work in the permanent solutions projects started simultaneously with the urgent solutions projects, which has been completed at the specified deadline.” However, Prince Khaled admitted that the permanent solution projects will probably take several years, unlike the urgent solutions which are only meant to “mitigate rain and flood hazards and not prevent them”. He said, “These projects reduce the rain and flood hazards and disasters but don't prevent them. We cannot stop what has been predestined by Almighty Allah.” Prince Khaled praised the international standard of the urgent projects to drain excess rain and floodwater from Jeddah efficiently. He said, “I'm sure about the high quality of these projects and there is nothing that calls for fear or concern. The projects are of the highest international standard.” The projects were overseen by officials at the sites and in the office who have hailed them as exceptional. The prince expressed his hope that they would be studied as an exceptional case and taken into consideration in future projects. He said, “The project is a unique example of coordination between government administrations and the ministries' branches. The Saudi citizen has proved that he is capable of rising to the level of responsibility and international standards if he is given the opportunity.” He said the urgent projects were unique “as Saudi teams participated in every detail of their construction including preliminary studies, execution and supervision.” Finally, Prince Khaled expressed his thanks to the King, the Crown Prince and all the ministries, government sectors and contractors involved in the projects. He also praised the Makkah governorate for organizing the service sectors for the benefit of the citizens. However, Prince Khaled also expressed his disapproval of other administrations responsible for stalled and disrupted projects, which have cost billions of riyals. He said he had written a number of letters to these administrations asking “for an explanation for this and whether there is a way to help them overcome this delay”.
