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JEDDAH – A Saudi woman died on Tuesday when the car she was traveling in collided with a water tanker truck on Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Road. Eyewitnesses said the truck driver was traveling at a “crazy speed” and jumped a red light before it crashed into the car which contained two passengers. Rescue services cut free the body of the woman and the driver was rushed to hospital. A police spokesman said the driver of the truck was taken into custody and can expect to face criminal charges. – Okaz/SG

JEDDAH – The national mediation and reconciliation project to resolve a dispute prior to the rendering of a final decision by the trial court, being carried out by the Ministry of Justice to reduce the accumulation of court cases, has reached advanced stages, Minister of Justice Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdul Kareem Al-Issa said Tuesday.

Dr. Al-Issa made the statement during his inspection tour of Jeddah courts. The Ministry of Justice is seeking the help and experience of retired judges to have cases settled out of court.

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JEDDAH – The Mayors Office has set a purse of SR3 billion to build flyovers and underpasses to ease traffic congestion in Jeddah over the next five years.

Saeed Abdul Qadir Bafaheed, the mayoraltys head of bridges and underpasses, cited the figure after laying the foundation stone for works on the junction between Sari Road and Madina Road on Saturday.

Those works, he said, will be started by the contracted firm within a week, and will “significantly ease traffic flow in the zone”.

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<br/> MADINA &ndash; The Ministry of Haj has warned all Haj and Umrah companies against housing pilgrims in properties that have not obtained licenses from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, saying that licensing is required of all property owners in Makkah and Madina renting accommodation to pilgrims.<br/> The ministry added that any breaches of the conditions would be &ldquo;severely penalized&rdquo;.<br/> The ministry has also banned the entry of foreign bus companies vehicles into the central area in Madina for a period of 60 days, from the month of Sha&rsquo;ban until the end of Ramadan. The vehicles must now be parked at designated Land Pilgrims Parking Lots in Madina.<br/> According to the ministry, the move will reduce congestion in the central area as the number of pilgrim increase.<br/> In the last few days the increase in pilgrim numbers arriving in Madina has been noticeable, with 32 flights arriving at Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport on Thursday alone. &ndash; Okaz/SG

JEDDAH – The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has questioned the accuracy of a Saudi Gazette report regarding the only radar at Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madina.

Saudi Gazette, on June 13, published a report that the SR60m radar at the airport broke down.

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JEDDAH – Saudi Arabias General Authority of Civil Aviation, the industry regulator, shortlisted eight groups for the contract to develop the first phase of an airport at Medina, Islams second holy city.

Khalid Al-Khaibary, the authoritys spokesman, said in a phone interview on Friday that the winner of the tender will develop, own and operate the airport, the cost of which is estimated at SR6 billion ($1.6 billion), for 25 years before transferring it to the government.

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MADINA – The Madina Development Commission (MDC) has said it is working on a new long-term development strategy that includes a train network to address the city’s traffic congestion.
Speaking just over three months on from its establishment, Secretary General Muhammad Al-Alli said the MDC was closely following a comprehensive planning project assigned to three international companies and which is eight months away from completion.
“The project involves laying out a long-term strategy for the city’s planning, addressing green areas, transport and traffic, the environment, housing, large-scale investment projects and the development of unplanned residential zones, and infrastructure and services,” Al-Alli said.
Al-Alli declined to set a cost or give a date for when the train line from the Madina Knowledge City to the Prophet’s Mosque and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Airport would be operational, but said that the proposal is for a monorail system.
“It and other transport plans in the project will help improve traffic flow and tackle the expected increase in traffic through train stations at designated places. The project will also see expansion to Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Airport,” he said.
According to Al-Alli, a complete review of planning in the central zone has already been finished along with design plans for the first ring road.
“It will streamline traffic and pedestrian thoroughfares and provide the services required by the zone and visitors to it,” he said. “The next phase will see a lot of works to improve and beautify the area.”
The most urgent work, Al-Alli said, was to address oft-cited concerns with the planning of the central zone.
“Very soon we will move on from the planning and study stage to tackling the existing problems in the zone, and I should point out at this juncture that the zone hosts millions of visitors of various nationalities and cultures during its peak times and which you can rarely find the like of in any other region, and which naturally requires special handling to meet all the comfort and safety needs of visitors,” he said.
Al-Alli also said that the Emir of Madina Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Majed had ordered a reevaluation of properties removed in the Bab Al-Tamar area.
“The Emir wants to ensure that the owners of removed property are treated fairly,” he said. “They did not receive the compensation set by previous committees, and the relevant authorities have been contacted to provide representatives for the reevaluation committee, and the committee will begin its work very soon.” – Okaz/SG

RIYADH – A number of changes have been made to the operations of the Kingdom’s embassies and consulates, to make it easier for citizens while abroad on holiday, study or business.
This forms part of the directives of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz.
Ambassador Muhammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Salloum, Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry for Consular Affairs, said 10 temporary consulates have been opened in cities abroad, to make it easier for citizens who are far away from the headquarters of the Kingdom’s embassies and consulates.
He said the temporary consulates have been opened in Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Oman, Indonesia and Morocco. This is for the 2010 summer season.
In addition to this, Al-Salloum said the Saudi missions abroad have set up a weekly Diwaniya (social gathering), from this summer, to enable Saudi citizens to meet with members of the missions. The foreign ministry’s website called “Sada Al-Kharijiah” (Echo of the Foreign Ministry) is also available for interaction. He said arrangements have been made to hold a meeting at the beginning of July this year in Brussels to reach an agreement that legalizes the visa process for the Kingdom’s citizens, and the European countries who are members of the Schengen region.
Al-Salloum said the objective behind this is to reduce the requirements of the Schengen Visa, to increase its validity to five years and to give students a visa to cover the entire period of study and training.
The Schengen Visa currently allows travelers on holiday or business to use one visa to visit 15 European countries. It is valid for a stay of up to 90 days in the Schengen region in a six month period. Al-Salloum called on citizens to visit the ministry’s website www.mofa.gov.sa to acquaint themselves with the latest developments. – Okaz/SG

MADINA – In less than six months after it was purchased, the only radar at Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madina, which automatically guides pilots to the runway, has broken down. The cost of the radar is SR60 million.

A navigational air source said that the radar had previously stopped functioning several times, sometimes for up to six hours. This has resulted in the navigation authorities not using it at all even though there are no reserve radars to direct air traffic.

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JEDDAH – The SR98.5 million new underpass at King Fahd Street (Sitteen Street) and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Street (Tahlia Street) intersection was formally inaugurated here Sunday.

The new underpass, situated at one of Jeddahs busiest junctions, is expected to ease the flow of traffic. It was earlier scheduled to be opened on Thursday but was delayed because of the indisposition of Mayor Adel Fakeih.

Inaugurating the 470 meters long and 29 meters wide underpass which has three lanes in both the directions, Mayor Fakeih hoped that several new projects undertaken by the mayoralty would considerably ease the flow of traffic in the city.

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