The Municipality of Jeddah is set to invite tenders for Jeddah's Metro train project, declared Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour bin Miteb.
Addressing a press conference in Jeddah on Wednesday, the minster said that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is paying close attention to infrastructural development projects in the Kingdom. He also revealed that there is a proposal for the establishment of a metro train system in Riyadh following the completion of surveys.
He said the launch of a metro system will ease traffic congestion in the capital.
Prince Mansour said the Municipal Affairs Ministry is according top priority to housing projects in the Kingdom as per the directives of King Abdullah, who had met with the housing minister. In addition, efforts are being made to transfer vacant land from the jurisdiction of municipalities to the housing ministry.
He said public health and food safety is a subject where common policy and mechanisms are required across the Kingdom that municipalities must deal with. He noted that the domain of food and public health is associated with several government agencies and as such called for a conference in Jeddah where ministers and mayors would participate to draw out a common strategy to handle the vital topic of societal well-being.
Earlier, Prince Mansour called on municipalities to monitor food outlets in the Kingdom.
Mayors from 16 governorates, high-ranking officials from the ministries of Municipal Affairs, Agriculture, Health and Commerce, the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO), the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and the PME participated in the conference. The conference was hosted by the Jeddah Municipality.
Speaking to Arab News, Riyadh Mayor Abdullah Al-Meqbel said that the meeting is a positive outcome in the direction of public health. Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar told Arab News that food safety mechanisms were the focus of the conference.
Magda Abu Ras of the Saudi Environment Society, who participated to outline the role of a clean environment in public health, told Arab News that she drew attention of the municipal minister and mayors to the subject.
Arab News
25 April
