Government greenlights Jeddah metro
Decision comes after study finds that Saudi roads revamp won’t solve city’s traffic problems
The Saudi transport ministry and the mayoralty of Jeddah have approved the first phase of the Red Sea port-city’smetro project.
Initially, the network will link the new King Abdulaziz International Airport, Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in downtown Al-Ruwais and Al-Khozam district.
The approval comes after the conclusion of a study that showed the current underpasses being constructed in the city would not alleviate traffic jams and bottlenecks.
“The study showed that 96% of Jeddah’s inhabitants use vehicles as their primary mode of transportation and only 4% use public transportation,” the mayor of Jeddah, Hani Abu Rass, told the Saudi Gazette.
“This is hugely out of sync with the rest of the world where up to 70% of the population in major cities uses public transportation,” said Abu Rass.
