JEDDAH — The ministerial committee for transport in Makkah province met here on Wednesday to review the progress of a plan to beef up the public transport system in the province, including the cities of Jeddah and Makkah. The meeting, chaired by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, and attended by the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour Bin Miteb, Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal Bin Majed, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Assaf, Acting Transport Minister Muhammad Jameel Mulla, Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar, Jeddah Mayor Hani Aburas and other senior officials, reviewed detailed reports presented by the two mayoralties. Addressing the meeting, Prince Khaled underlined the need for expediting implementation of the project, of which feasibility studies as well as the designing phase have already been completed. Presenting the report on the Makkah transport system, Al-Bar said the project has two parts – the Makkah Metro and a network of buses, which will be based mainly on the bus rapid transit (BRT) system that provides a faster and more efficient transport service than the ordinary bus service. The BRT network will have 60 stations on a total length of 60 km of ring roads. There will also be a network of local buses plying between the Grand Mosque and various destinations in the city not covered by BRT. The network will cover a distance of 65 km. There will be feeder services to pick and drop passengers at various metro stations. Jeddah Mayor Aburas briefed the meeting on studies conducted for the public transport system for the city. The plan includes a light train network over a distance of 67 km from Makkah Road to Obhur via central Jeddah. The three-line network will have 22 stations. A 24-km line will link King Abdulaziz International Airport to Haramain Railway Station at Sulaimaniya district in the Old Airport area. The line will have 17 stations. Another 17-km line with seven stations will link the Haramain station with Corniche via Palestine Road. The mayor said the public transport system also includes a network of 816 buses plying over a total length of 750 km. Aburas said a sea transport network with 10 stations will be built along the Corniche with the aim of boosting tourism and entertainment.
