Published on: 04/04/2011
A project to exploit underground water in the Empty Quarter started pumping water to many districts of Najran on the 1st of April 2011.
“Water supplied by 17 wells in the Empty Quarter are collected at a location 130 kilometers east of Najran city before supplying to various districts,” Director General of the Water Department in Najran province Saleh Heshlan said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency.
The wells are now capable of pumping 50,000 cubic meters of water daily and the pumped water is collected in the first pumping station in Nuqaiha, 125 kilometers east of Najran, and then pumped with the help of boosting stations, he said.
The project will benefit Al-Fahd and Athayabah districts, districts on both sides of King Abdulaziz and King Abdullah roads from the Holiday Inn to the Al-Shalal intersection.
The minister told local Arabic daily Al-Madinah that there would not be any change in water tariffs despite the fact that demands will tremendously increase in the next five years due to an increase in population and development projects.
"The ministry is currently considering plans to specify the areas in which there is a need for treated sewage water," he added.
Source: Iraq Daily Journal, April 2, 2011
