Saudi Gazette, translating a piece from Asharq Alawsat, reports that the city of Jeddah’s infrastructure cannot support the building of high rise buildings. Whether it’s the road grid, sewage, or water distribution, the city just cannot handle the additional burdens skyscrapers would demand.
This will serve to push the limits of the city outward, as well as encourage the development of places like Rabigh, one of the ‘economic cities’ now under construction. With contemporary planning philosophies, the new cities should be able to handle increased demand more efficiently and effectively.
Jeddah - Adel Bashnaq Chairman of the Infrastructure in Jeddah’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned against the construction of skyscrapers in the coastal city because of technical difficulties, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
Bushnaq said one of the major technical difficulties limiting the construction of skyscrapers in Jeddah is its weak infrastructure.
He pointed out that Jeddah’s master plan doesn’t include mega consuming outlets and service facilities.
“The skyscrapers will further worsen the flow of traffic because the limited capacity of the roads and transportation networks. The infrastructure doesn’t match the needs of the current population density.”
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August:19:2008 - 08:44
Excuse me, but I thought the comparative lack of infrastructure in Jeddah has been a deliberate policy, to encourage business and administration to move to Riyadh?
August:19:2008 - 08:44
That might have been policy 20+ years ago, i.e., when Riyadh first opened up to outsiders, but not of late. The fact is that Saudi population and enterprise are exploding. No city can contain its own growth, never mind siphoning away the growth of other cities.
Jeddah’s problems stem from the fact that it is an old city, that growth in the city has been largely unregulated, that not enough attention or money has been focused on critical infrastructure.
August:19:2008 - 08:44
The mad dash to update Jeddah’s aging infrastructure can be seen all over the city. No street or major road is without a project in progress or two. This has caused an awful amount of traffic congestion that will be part of Jeddah for at least a few years to come until the major projects finish.