JEDDAH — The transport sector will provide about 39,000 jobs for Saudi men and women over the next 10 years, according to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). In a report presented to a meeting of the public transport project in Jeddah on Monday, the authority said there are abundant investment opportunities in the metro train projects as well as the school transport and public buses sectors. According to the report, the transport projects will immediately provide 500 jobs in assembly plants and administration work, 500 jobs in maintenance and 1,500 in the manufacturing of train components. The meeting was chaired by Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who is also the chairman of the ministerial committee to supervise public transport projects in the province. During the meeting, Prince Khaled stressed the importance of nationalizing jobs in the transport sector and said this would further boost the process of Saudization and create more job opportunities for Saudis. He reviewed the chances of Saudizing jobs in the Makkah metro project and said the executing contractor was committed to establishing spare parts factories that would further strengthen the Kingdom's industrial infrastructure. The emir said the nationalization of jobs would be a condition for all future public transport projects. He said the contractors would be asked to present detailed plans on job nationalization prior to offering them the contracts. In 2013, the Council of Ministers approved public transport projects in Jeddah and Makkah at the tune of SR107 billion. The public transport project in the holy city will consist of a network of metro trains to transport Haj and Umrah pilgrims throughout the year and buses that will have 60 stops all leading to the Grand Mosque. The buses will cross a distance of 65 km between the Grand Mosque and various districts and neighborhoods. Jeddah will have three metro services, the first covering a distance of 67 km and consisting of 22 stations, the second to cover a distance of 24 km with 17 stations and the third 17 km long with seven stations. There will be 816 buses working in Jeddah with 2,950 bus stops and the city will also have a monorail to cover a distance of 38 km along the Corniche.
