US $3.07 billion earmarked for Saudi roads

US $3.071 billion (SAR11.5 billion) has been allocated for road construction projects in a renewed bid to expand Saudi Arabia’s modern transportation system and facilitate the growing movement of people and freight.

A total of 8,250 kms will be constructed in the Kingdom during the fiscal year 2009-2010.

The Ministry of Transport is also working on expanding sea, coastal and rail networks in the Kingdom. The funds will be mainly spent on building new highways and agricultural roads, which constitute the backbone of the Saudi transportation system.

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According to Minister of Transport Jubara Al Suraisery, the new budget will cover the cost of several new agricultural roads, whose total length will be about 2,118 km.

A major boost will be given to the agricultural sector by the new agriculture roads that would help diversify the local economy. The Ministry of Transport will also study and design new road projects, including highways for which it will spend about SAR84 million of the allocation.

Several new road construction and repairing projects, including pedestrian roads and bridges are currently underway.

More than SAR150 billion have been spent on the construction of roads in the Kingdom during the past five years. The total length of roads in Saudi Arabia has increased from 42,249 km in 1994 to more than 175,000 km in 2008. This is in addition to the ongoing development and construction of the networks of overpasses and underpasses within various cities across the country.