New landfill site for Jeddah

A new landfill site for construction and demolition waste has been opened north of the Saudi Arabian capital Jeddah.

Operated by the Jeddah Municipality and situated in the north of the capital the new Thuwal Dump covers 1 million m2 and is capable of containing 3 million m3 of waste.

Speaking to local press at the opening, Ibrahim Siba, the director general of the coordination department at the municipality, said, "Since many huge projects are under construction, especially in the northern part of Jeddah, the dump will collect waste resulting primarily from infrastructure works."

Mr Siba also said construction companies working in the area have been "cautioned" against dumping construction waste elsewhere, with "severe penalties" for those that ignore the ruling.