Saud Al-Khozaim & Mansour Al-Shehri Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH – Minister of Transport Abdullah Al-Muqbel has issued directives to withdraw delayed projects from the designated contractors and warn companies caught committing violations. The contractors have been forced to resolve the violations within 48 hours. The minister had carried out a field tour to inspect a number of roads being built and maintained in Riyadh Province. The projects included building a 44-km link between the 107-km Al-Hayer–Hotat Bani Tamim dual carriageway and Al-Hareeq governorate; several phases of the under-contruction 70 km Al-Kharj–Al-Quwayiyah dual carriageway with intersections; and repairing the 160-km Al-Kharj-Haradh Road and providing it with intersections. They also included building a 100 km link between the Riyadh-Dammam Expressway and Haradh Road and some intersections on the highway and carrying out maintenance work. Al-Muqbel stressed on the necessity to comply with the deadlines for carrying out the projects. He emphasized that the ministry would not hesitate to implement sanctions against any negligent contractor in carrying out the work he has been assigned. These penalties, he said, included withdrawing projects or forcing contractors to carry them out on their personal expense. In a meeting on Tuesday, Al-Muqbel and Director General of Public Security Lt. Gen. Othman Nasser Al-Muhrij discussed a number of issues related to serving users of main roads and highways linking the Kingdom's regions, cities and governorates. They also discussed intensifying security monitoring on the roads. The two sides stressed the importance of cooperation and developing the relationship between the ministry and Public Security. The two sides also discussed issues related to serving visitors to the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. The meeting came as a result of directives from Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, second deputy premier and minister of interior, to hold a meeting to discuss ways to serve users of main roads and expressways linking different parts of the country and intensifying security monitoring of these roads. The director of Public Security visited the minister at the ministry's headquarters. He was accompanied by several commanders of Public Security.
