The Transport Ministry has drawn a flak from the Shoura Council members for incomplete flyovers and stumbled projects.

A number of Shoura Council members have accused the Ministry of Transport of corruption pointing to the worsened conditions of the streets and the stumbling of the ministry’s projects.

They said the state has allocated billions of dollars to the ministry to improve the streets’ conditions and maintain them, adding that the Shoura Council does not have any information about its work. The Shoura members cited personal experiences to prove the corruption of the ministry and its failure to implement road projects and maintain them.

Shoura member, Abdullah Al-Nasser, pointed to an overpass that should link Riyadh’s large network of roads with one another but the project stayed incomplete for six years although the overpass was only 100 meters in length.

Al-Nasser urged the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) to probe the value of the contract for the implementation of the project, worth SR37 million, while the contract of the company supervising the project was only worth SR16 million.

He described this minimized model as an indicator of the Ministry’s corruption, laziness and neglect.

“Which company receives half the value of its contract?” asked Al-Nasser.

Muna Al-Mushayt, the female Shoura member, pointed to the stumbled projects in peripheral areas explaining that implementing such projects takes long periods of time posing hazards and threats to the lives of citizens. The ones already implemented are poorly done despite the large investments, she remarked.

Another Shoura member, Mansour Al-Kraidis, demanded that his colleagues personally check out the state of the roads while commuting because the Transport Ministry did not offer any information in this regard, or account for the billions of riyals allocated for their maintenance or asphalting.

On the other hand, member Ahmad Al-Zulaie wondered why the ministry’s performance is lagging behind in regard to maritime transport.

“Historical documents prove that our Kingdom was leading in maritime transport and shipping until the rein of King Saud,” he said, citing a number of quays and berths on the Red Sea waterfront.

He said the waterfronts still exist but the marine transport has not picked up despite the abundance of financial and technological advancements in the country.

 
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