A committee headed by Prince Misha'l Bin Majid, Governor of Jeddah which includes Dr. Hani Abu Ras, Mayor of Jeddah and other officials from various authorities, has been formed to enumerate and evaluate the properties existing within the parameters of the permanent solution projects. This was stated by Ahmad Al-Saleem, director general of the projects for permanent rain and floodwater drainage solutions in Jeddah, during a press conference here. The projects were last week tendered to four companies at a cost of SR3.388 billion. Al-Saleem said over 200,000 work hours will be carried out in Saudi Arabia, USA and Britain to approve solutions presented during workshops by the concerned authorities along with the accompanying field work including soil tests and surveying. The projects include the construction of five dams linked to drainage canals, rehabilitation of three major flood courses and the construction of a new canal adjacent to the King Abdulaziz International Airport. Four contractors are to carry out the projects over an area exceeding 1,000 sq. km and will require 25 million work hours and more than 8,500 workers. A total of 14,000 workers will be needed during the peak period, including 2,500 types of machinery. A total of 35 work sites will be operating simultaneously. The help of a neutral third party with no relationship to the executing or designing company has been appointed to monitor and control quality. A contract has been signed to supervise the construction with SNC-Lavalin Arabia. Engineering designs are by Eikom Arabia. Hydrological studies were completed following a detailed study of the water basins east of Jeddah Governorate, using high precision photo maps. Over 200,000 working hours were spent in the Kingdom, the US and Britain to approve engineering solutions. These were presented at workshops to the authorities along with all the accompanying field work, soil tests and surveying reports. — SG/SPA __
