Construction of long-term flood solution projects in Jeddah will be complete late next year as per schedule, said Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. Prince Khaled said this would also be a model for future drainage projects not only in Jeddah and other regions of Makkah province but the rest of the Kingdom. The governor was speaking to reporters after inspecting various project sites in Jeddah on Tuesday. Ahmad Al-Sulaim, director general of the drainage department at Makkah governorate, said so far 3.3 million work hours have been spent on implementing the projects within 110 days since the contracts were awarded in March this year. A total of 7,364 workers are implementing the project at 82 sites. All the projects will be ready by September next year, he said. Prince Khaled's tour included eight project sites. Al-Sulaim and other senior officials and engineers accompanied him. The governor was briefed on projects at the sites of the northern drainage expansion project on Prince Muhammad Street (Tahliya) and new airport canal on Malek bin Khalaf Street in Shatie district. He expressed gratitude to the Saudi young men and women who are taking part in the construction project. There are 84 young men and 11 women who have acquired training and are involved in the drainage projects. Addressing the Saudi workers, he said: "I am proud of you for your active participation in the development process of your country through involvement in this field work. May Allah bless you to continue working to realize one of the major projects in the Kingdom." The governor also visited the headquarters of the department of Jeddah drainage projects where he watched a video presentation by Al-Sulaim focusing on the progress achieved in the engineering and construction fields. Al-Sulaim also announced the date of completion for each project. The northern drainage expansion project will be completed on Nov. 15; the Wadi Ghulail dam project and expansion of south drainage project on Dec. 14; the Wadi Ghaya, Wadi Um Hablain, Wadi Daghbaj, and Wadi Briman dam projects on Jan. 15; the eastern drainage expansion on Feb. 15; and King Abdulaziz International Airport canal project on Sep. 20, 2013. He said the permanent projects include the construction of five dams and seven check dams carrying a total length of 4,600 meters and a capacity of 23 million cubic meters, in addition to branch canals to drain the dams with a length of 20 km. These also include renovation and expansion of the existing eastern, southern and northern main drainage systems with a total length of 30 km. Another 55 km new canal with installed pipes will also be constructed as part of the project, he said, adding more than 45,000 tons of reinforced steel and 740,000 cubic meters of concrete will be used for the project. Two Saudi and two international companies have been awarded contracts worth a total of SR 3.39 billion to implement these projects in March this year. Nesma Company won a contract worth SR 803 million to build four dams in Wadi Ghaya, Wadi Um Hablain, Wadi Daghbaj, and Wadi Briman and another contract worth SR 372 million to build a dam in Wadi Ghalil and renovate the southern floodwater path. The second contract valued at SR 143 million was awarded to the China Communications Construction Company to renovate the northern floodwater path. Snamprogetti Saudi Arabia Company has won the biggest contract, valued at SR 1.319 billion, to construct a rainwater drainage system for the new Jeddah airport. Saudi Pan Kingdom for Trade, Industry and Contracting (SAPAC) won a SR 751 million contract to renovate the eastern floodwater path. The four were picked from 13 companies that were prequalified to present tenders for the projects. The Alkhobar-based SNC-Lavalin Arabia was appointed as the neutral agency to ensure quality of work while these projects are implemented. A total of 14 emergency projects to deal with rainwater and flash floods in Jeddah were completed in December last year. The municipality completed these ad hoc projects within 110 days. Jeddah was hit by torrential rains and devastating floods in November 2009 and in January 2011 that killed more than 130 people and destroyed thousands of homes and vehicles. The poor drainage system was blamed for turning the flood disaster into a catastrophe. Arab News
