A number of road and rail projects are under way in Makkah and will likely be completed soon, according to Mayor Osama Bin Fadhl Al-Bar. He said recently that the tender for the Al-Haramain Train Station at Al-Zahareen District in Al-Rusaifa area will be awarded next June. He also revealed cooperation between the private and government sectors to establish a regional transport network for trains inside Makkah, to be linked to the Holy Sites Train Station and the Ayesha Mosque in Northern Makkah. He said the network will be linked to King Abdul Aziz Road and will be handled by a company in which the government will also have a stake. He said 50 percent work on the first ring road has been carried out and the remaining will be done in coordination with the Ministry of Finance. The remaining part of the road will cost SR280 million, he added. “The remaining part of the ring road will be carried out jointly by Umm Ali Construction Company and Bin Laden group. The second ring road was handed over in full, while work on the third ring road is under way and will be operational before this year's Haj season.” Some parts of the fourth ring road have been completed while work on the part linking Jeddah to the Makkah Expressway and Al-Leeth Road is under way. Meanwhile, Col. Ahmad Bin Nashi, Director of the Traffic Department in Makkah, said the new projects will ease traffic congestion especially during Ramadan and Haj seasons. He said the ring roads and projects being carried out in Makkah will absorb 70 percent of the city's traffic. He said that the Holy Sites Train will start service on an experimental basis during this year's Haj. He said 20 trains, with a capacity of 20,000 passengers, will be operated every hour.
