n International contractor signed for permanent solutionThe authorities should be commended for taking the first major step towards permanent flood protection for Jeddah's beleaguered residents. This was the signing a few days ago of a SR642 million contract with AECOM, a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York stock exchange, which is a global provider of technical and management solutions for various markets including environment and water. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, who chairs a committee tasked with providing a solution to the flood problem in Jeddah, said the agreement entails management, initial and preparatory engineering works and supervision over the project. The project will take a total of three years, with the tender for the work itself going out within five months. However, urgent work will be completed in six months, to protect the most vulnerable areas of Jeddah. This will include the building of dams and barriers in all the region's valleys and drainage in the city itself, said Prince Khaled. This is surely good news for citizens and residents as the year draws inexorably closer to winter, or the rainy season. In less than seven months we're in November, the month that the first devastating flood took place in 2009. This is why there is such urgency to the process now underway. The city cannot afford to be at risk again this year. Other welcome tidings recently have been the announcement by the Ministry of Interior that a total of 302 people and 32 legal entities, representing companies, organizations and consultation offices, have been identified for questioning, in connection with the disaster of 2009, which caused an estimated SR7 billion in damage. This is an important measure to determine which individuals and companies are responsible for shoddy infrastructure projects, including inadequate drainage. Those responsible had clearly stolen from the public purse and failed in their responsibility towards residents. Another well-intentioned initiative by the authorities recently has been the installation of 129 cameras, not only to serve as early warning signals, but also to check whether contractors are carrying out their work properly. These measures, added together, are all necessary and vital for the protection and safety of the residents of the Bride of the Red Sea. Another flood disaster must be avoided at all costs. __
