JEDDAH, February 2:: Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif on Tuesday announced a series of measures to tackle Jeddah’s recurrent floods. He said international companies would be awarded contracts to establish a state-of-the art rainwater drainage system for Jeddah.
Prince Naif made this statement after presiding over a meeting of the ministerial committee that was set up by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah following the devastating Jan. 26 floods. Earlier he inspected the flood-hit areas in various parts of Jeddah traveling on a helicopter.
He said a high-level subsidiary committee has been set up to conduct studies on the causes of Jeddah floods and follow up implementation of projects to prevent future floods. Works on the project should start within a month, he insisted.
The new committee, which has been approved by the king, will be chaired by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. “It has been given exceptional powers to award contracts,” he said.
Prince Naif stressed that strong action would be taken against negligent individuals and institutions who were partly responsible for the flooding and its aftermath.
Prince Naif instructed concerned departments to assess damages caused by the floods in order to pay fair compensations to deserving victims. Relevant government departments have been told to get prepared to face any emergency situations.
The Civil Defense will be beefed up providing the department with more manpower and equipment to carry out its mission quickly and effectively.
The meeting also decided to appoint a specialized international company to study rainwater drainage projects for underdeveloped areas in Jeddah. The company will also study the city’s sewage network.
“New rainwater drainage projects will be implemented based on the company’s studies,” an official statement after the meeting said. Qualified international firms will be given contracts for the purpose, it added.
The new committee will have the right to take the help of international experts to implement drainage projects. It can appoint specialists to identify districts that are recurrently hit by floods in order to tackle the situation and expropriate properties.
–Agencies