The Saudi Ministry of Education has signed a 2-billion-riyal contract with the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) to build 200 schools in different cities and provinces in the Kingdom. Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad, Minister of Education, signed the contract for the constructing work which has to be completed in 14 months. CRCC was selected from among several companies that had bid for the work, he said. Faisal Bin Abdul Rahman Bin Muammar, the minister's deputy said 150,000 students would be enrolled in the schools. “The specifications of the buildings are in line with international standards and the aim is to provide a better educational environment to our kids,” Bin Muammar said. The deal had been approved by the Cabinet, he said. The schools to be built by CRCC represent only 6 percent of the ministry's on-going projects. In all, 3,500 schools of different sizes will be built all over the country at a total cost of SR20 billion and to accommodate about 1,700,000 male and female pupils. Most of the work is with local contractors, Bin Muammar said.
