A public transport plan for the Jeddah region, which includes a network of trains, buses and sea transport lines, has been approved by the Saudi Cabinet.

 

The Cabinet gave instructions to implement the plan,  presented by Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, within seven years, said a report in the Saudi Gazette. 

 

The Cabinet entrusted Jeddah Mayoralty to establish a public transport company, which is to be owned by the Jeddah Development & Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC), to manage the implementation of the public transport projects in the region, the report quoted Minister of Culture and Information Dr Abdulaziz Khoja as saying.

 

The newspaper quoted Prince Khaled as saying the public transport plan would be instrumental in further spurring the development of the region and easing traffic congestion in the city. 

 

The plan includes a light train network over a distance of 67 km from Makkah Road to Obhur via central Jeddah. The three-line network will have 22 stations. A 24-km line will link King Abdulaziz International Airport to Haramain Railway Station at Sulaimaniya district in the Old Airport area. The line will have 17 stations. Another 17-km line with seven stations will link the Haramain station with Corniche via Palestine Road, the report said. 

 

The city will benefit from 56 km of the Haramain Railway that link Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah. 

 

The public transport system also includes a network of 816 buses plying over a total length of 750 km. There will be 2,950 bus stations. A sea transport network with 10 stations will be built along the Corniche with the aim of boosting tourism and entertainment, it said. 

 

The government will meet the whole cost of implementation, maintenance and operation of these projects, the report added.