Return of the Jeddah economy rests on project boom

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Saudi Arabia’s coastal hub of Jeddah will need hundreds of new construction projects over the next five years to meet the needs of a growing population, the city’s governor has said.

Prince Mishaal bin Majed told a meeting of the Council of Local Growth and Development (CLGD) in Jeddah that the city needed schools, sewage and water facilities, electricity and transport infrastructure. He also said that the Saudi Red Cross had projects that needed to be completed in the city.

"Jeddah will end the sewage water problem in four years. Radical solutions are being implemented for issues such as transportation and crowding," Prince Mishaal told Arab News after the meeting.

He also said that integrated plans would be implemented for districts in eastern Jeddah, where floods killed hundreds of Saudis in 2009.

During the meeting, Prince Mishaal said that 343 projects in Jeddah are approaching completion, while 52 have been halted.

Speaking at the meeting, Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal stressed the need to finish projects on time.

"Their timely completion is strongly desired because they are needed by the city's growing population," he said.