Faleh Al-Dhibyani Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, said here Friday that the Jeddah water crisis will be solved within four days. The Emir reassured citizens and expatriates that he received confirmation from officials in the National Water Company (NWC) and the Ministry of Water that the problem will be solved within four days. He pledged to follow up the matter. Prince Khaled said the reason for the current water shortage was a defect in Shuaibah desalination plants that feed Jeddah. He disclosed a package of solutions including the construction of strategic tanks to store water. The construction of a tank with a capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters at a cost of SR600 million is already in progress. Two more tanks with the same capacity will also be built soon, the Emir said. He also said that the Jeddah desalination plant will start pumping about 240,000 cubic meters of water to the tanks in Al-Faisaliya. Hundreds of people have been reportedly standing in long lines at different water distribution points in Jeddah over the past few weeks waiting for their turn to get water. People waiting for the coupon at the water station are segregated in three queues: One for expats, one for Saudis and one for women. While the expat queue moves very slowly with the turns coming after 12-14 hours of long wait, the Saudi queue moves faster.
