Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz has approved a budget of SR1.4 billion for water treatment in Jeddah city, the first installment of some SR7 billion directed to solve the sewage problem "within five years", Al-Watan newspaper reported.
The director of the Water Authority in the Makkah Region, Muhammad Al-Baghdadi, said the amount was set aside to establish a comprehensive network of sewers and a treatment plant.
The authority completed the studies for the projects and put them out to tender for Saudi contractors, he conveyed.
At the first stage, some of the worst-affected areas would see projects worth SR600 million, he said.
Of the 300,000 cubic meters of sewage the city puts out daily, only 200,000 is treated and the rest is pumped straight out to sea, he told the newspaper. A
treatment plant is therefore badly needed.
Al-Baghdadi disclosed leakage and other wastage due to faulty infrastructure resulted in losses of some 20 to 30 percent of potable water in the region, though no accurate figures are available. He said some 150,000 cubic meters a day in loss was normal, but anything above that was cause
for concern. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
