RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's road quality index has risen to 5.7, placing the Kingdom in the fourth rank among the G20 countries, according to a survey carried out by the Saudi Roads General Authority. More than 77 percent of the roads across Saudi Arabia meets safety standards, exceeding the 66 percent targeted last year, the survey pointed out. These performance results were revealed 500 days after the Kingdom's launching of the Roads Sector Strategy that focuses on safety, quality and traffic density, and based on its role in organizing and supervising the sector by setting the necessary policies, standards and procedures for the roads sector. The Roads General Authority has carried out the largest survey in the world in accordance with its indicators. The authority has also scored many achievements and implemented initiatives at the level of organizing and raising the quality of roads and the level of traffic safety. It has established a road safety data center to collect and analyze data related to traffic accidents, and develop effective plans and programs to bring down number of accidents, in addition to opening a regional office for the International Road Assessment Program (IRAP) to enhance international cooperation in the field of traffic safety. The authority also converted road maintenance contracts into performance-based contracts to enhance the quality of work, in addition to developing an advanced system for managing bridges and accurately monitoring the quality of their infrastructure, and forecasting the required repairs to enhance the safety of their users. At the level of implementing road projects, the commitment rate to their implementation exceeded 90 percent, as a result of the interest in completing projects quickly and efficiently, which reflects the success of the strategy in achieving its goals and enhancing the Kingdom's position internationally as a global logistics center. The authority seeks to raise the level of safety and readiness on the road network, and achieve the objectives of the road sector strategy, by reaching the sixth global ranking in the road quality index, and reducing the number of road deaths to less than five cases per 100,000 people. It also aims to cover the road network with traffic safety factors according to the classification of the IRAP, besides maintaining an advanced level of services for the capacity of the road network, and increasing the participation of the private sector in operational work to 20 percent.
