water drainage projects in Jeddah in the last 25 years, but preparations are under way to construct a drainage tunnel and execute other projects, Eng. Alawi Sumait, Deputy Jeddah Mayor for Projects, confirmed Saturday. Asked about recent storm-water drainage projects completed by the mayoralty, Sumait said there are none, that the last one was completed about a quarter century ago in Jeddah's western districts, at a cost of SR300 million. There is a new study in preparation for constructing a tunnel 25 meters under the ground, along Sari Street, to carry floodwater from east Jeddah to the sea, he said. Sumait refused to talk about the future of Umm Al-Khair District. “I don't want to talk about the planned district because a higher committee is laying down the final solutions for it,” he said. He pointed out that the Jeddah Mayoralty announced that a number of projects are being executed, including those in south and east Jeddah for floodwater drainage and megaprojects that will be executed in the near future. Most prominent among these is the underground tunnel along Sari Street. Studies revealed that the initial plans would cause many delays and additional costs because there are other major projects' service lines at intersections on Sari Street. Constructing the tunnel below those lines will address the problem, Sumait said. “With this, we will avoid colliding with the service lines and we guarantee the rapid completion of the project,” he said. He said the plan is under final review. “We recently summoned four Saudi contractors who have experience in constructing tunnels and asked them to study the idea and the possibility of accomplishing it without any problems,” he said. To a question as to whether the project would be connected with east Jeddah, he said: “We are now working to link them because the dams that would be constructed in the extreme east would require rapid drainage, especially during the rainy seasons, the way it occurred yesterday (Friday) in the Asla Valley Precautionary Dam, which was protecting Jeddah from the previous sewage lake.” Sumait said experts are considering using the surplus water to irrigate the eastern forest and studying its salinity to ensure that it is suitable. If it is, some water would be diverted to that area. Asked why there are no projects to deal with the situation in Umm Al-Khair District, he confirmed that the Saudi Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Jeddah Urban Development Company, is conducting a study of Muraikh Valley. According to the survey, he added, part of Qows Valley floods found their way to Umm Al-Khair, which led the Jeddah Mayoralty to start constructing three dams in Qows Valley, he added. Those dams will end 35 percent of the problem in the area, Sumait said. Asked about the temporary closure of the King Abdullah underpass and whether the drainage system could cope with the quantity of water, he said investigators discovered that the rain water got mixed with sewage water, which prevented the pumps from functioning, so they were stopped until the water was drained. A project has been completed to increase pumping capacities in the underpasses by 25 percent and they will be operated at full capacity only in extraordinary situations, he added.
