Saudi Arabia has announced plans to spend around $490 million towards development of major water projects in the Tabuk region of the kingdom, said a report.
Tabuk has witnessed many achievements in the water sector in the past 12 months, including expansion of drinking water and wastewater networks, as well as reaching a number of districts and villages in different governorates of the region.
Among the most important were three new projects for drinking water and wastewater in Tayma, at a cost of SR26.2 million ($6.9 million), recently inaugurated by Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the governor of Tabuk region.
He also laid the cornerstone for three other projects worth SR15.696 million. The coverage of water networks has reached 100 per cent, and 84 per cent for sewage networks in populated areas.
The surface covered by drinking water networks has reached more than 3,500 km and the length of sewage networks more than 1,300 km.
The director general of the General Water Services Department in Tabuk, Saleh bin Khalaf Al Sharari, told that the number of water networks reached 71,000 connections and 38,000 sewage connections, bringing the coverage rate to 97 per cent for drinking water and 82 per cent for wastewater, said the report.
The Public Administration of Water Services in Tabuk has received 40 projects at a cost of SR815 million and signed 29 contracts for water and sanitation projects in the region at a cost of SR555 million, as well as a four dams contract at a cost of SR63 million, it added.
