New Mayor of Jeddah Hani Abu Ras has asked for time to determine priorities and promised concrete developments in the aging city. The new mayor spoke on the phone to Okaz/Saudi Gazette in his first statement to the media following his appointment by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Wednesday. “I will do my best to develop Jeddah and contribute to the development march of the city led by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, and Prince Misha'l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah,” said Abu Ras, who replaces Adel Fakeih after his appointment as minister of labor. “There is a lot of hard work ahead for the city as I shoulder this great responsibility,” he said. Fakieh's appointment followed the death earlier this week of Minister of Labor Ghazi Al-Gosaibi. The new mayor said he will continue Fakeih's work to finish the pending projects that have made the city an open workshop. Abu Ras said he would urgently address critical issues including the sewage network, unplanned neighborhoods, traffic congestion, problems with road networks and other problems that were caused by last November's floods that devastated large parts of the city. Abu Ras, who had served as the assistant mayor of Jeddah for services, thanked King Abdullah and Prince Mansour Bin Mit'eb, Minister of Municipality and Rural Affairs, for their great confidence in him.
