KHOBAR: A joint project between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will set up an electronic link between the countries' customs departments at the King Fahd Causeway Area, Saleh Bin Manee' Al-Khelaiwi, Director General of Customs told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The project will replace the use of official papers with electronic information, which will be handled by one organization, he added. Al-Khelaiwi said Saudi authorities have completed arrangements for launching the link-up and are waiting for the Bahraini authorities to complete their preparations. Work is also under way to set up and execute 40 new systems for radiation testing at all airports and land and sea ports, he added. Those systems, which should be completed within several months, will be added to the 43 previous testing systems, he said. Al-Khelaiwi pointed out that a high committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the Minster of Finance to develop Saudi ports within an integrated plan and execute it swiftly. The plan is expected to create qualitative and significant changes to work procedures, he added. The committee has started executing Salwa border-post project and work will soon at Al-Raqe'i checkpoint, he said. The Al-Batha border post receiving the final touches in completion of the development project there, he added. Al-Khelaiwi said the two-islands project the organization plans to execute outside the borders of the King Fahd Causeway includes a station for completing government procedures. Work setting up the project is set to start next year and continue for three years. Studies and designs are being prepared and when they are complete, the project will be offered for tendering. Al-Khelaiwi refused to comment how the financial resources for the General Organization for King Fahd Causeway have been affected in the last two months due to the small number of passengers. Any effects would be confirmed at the end of the Gregorian year, he said. He added that the Organization would soon begin using an SMS system showing the condition on the Causeway, to include the number of vehicles and the time required for passage.
