TURBA – People of Turba, which has a population of 80,000, have called upon authorities to speed up implementation of the proposed regional airport project, which will ease air travel for people in Turba and the neighboring cities of Kharma, Raniya and Mawiya. "We expect the Turba airport will take off quickly without further delay," Saad Muqed Al-Baqami told Okaz/Saudi Gazette while expressing optimism about the project. He said the airport would serve people living in the eastern governorates of the Makkah region. Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal announced the new airport in April 2013 when he visited Turba to explore its development requirements. He said the General Authority for Civil Aviation was looking for a suitable place to establish Turba airport. One of the oldest cities in the Kingdom, Turba is located 130 km from Taif and 120 km from Baha. Howzan is the first tribe that lived in this place. Later Hilal, Kilab and Dhabab tribes branched out from Howzan. Turba was known in the past as the gateway of Najd and a key to Hejaz. Al-Baqami spoke about other development needs of Turba to enhance welfare of its people. "We need a branch office of the Commerce Ministry to control prices of essential commodities," he said. "We also need a women's section at the Civil Status Affairs office," he added. Naif Al-Safraa called upon the Transport Ministry to expand and renovate Hadhn-Taif Road, Turba-Kharma Road, Turba-Raniya Road and Turba-Baha Road to reduce accidents. Red Crescent and Civil Defense offices should also be established to save accident victims. "Turba needs parks and recreation centers for people to spend their weekends and holidays with their families," Al-Safraa said. At present there is only a single park in the city, which cannot meet the requirements of 80,000 people who live in the governorate, he added. Abdullah Al-Humaili said Turba required offices of the Finance Ministry, General Organization of Social Insurance and a branch of the chamber of commerce and industry. "We are also awaiting establishment of a 200-bed hospital in the city," he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. Ayed Al-Hudaili stressed the need to establish a university in Turba to facilitate higher education for students residing in Makkah region's eastern governorates. "Many of our students are traveling daily to Taif University due to lack of required courses at university colleges in Turba, Raniya and other governorates. Existing colleges do not provide courses required by the job market." Abdullah Al-Muwarreki drew attention of authorities, especially Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, to Turba's tourism potentials. "We hope authorities would also hold an annual date festival in Turba being a major producer of dates in the region," he added.
