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Given the vast size of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, transport has always been a major concern, a prerequisite of industrial and commercial development. Every form of transport has been improved, with particular emphasis on roads and air transport.
 Roads
With the massive increase in traffic that has ensued from the Kingdom's industrial and agricultural development, it has been necessary to upgrade means of transport. Today, many of the inter-city roads to expressways accommodate anything up to eight lanes for traffic. Some of the more important inter-city highways are:
- Dammam - Abu Hadriya - Ras Tanura Highway (257 kms)
- Khaybar - Al Ola Highway (175 kms)
- Makkah - Madinah Al Munawarah Highway (421 kms)
- Riyadh - Dammam Highway (383 kms)
- Riyadh - Sedir - al Qasim Highway (317 kms)
- Riyadh - Taif Highway (750 kms)
- Taif - Abha-Gizan Highway (750 kms)
To alleviate congestion in cities caused by the growth in traffic and a number of cities now enjoy the benefits of modern ring-roads which serve to speed vehicles on their way and reduce congestion and pollution in city centers.
A further development is the construction of networks of over- and under-passes within the cities which again serve to facilitate driving in city centers.
The length of roads constructed up to 2001 was 111,770 kilometers. While a major effort has been devoted to inter-city and in-city road-building, agricultural communities have not been neglected. Even isolated villages are now connected by road to the main road network, so that the Kingdom can now boast a fully integrated, modern, nation-wide network of roads.
The climate and the terrain of the Kingdom are inimical to road-building. Burning hot deserts and high mountain ranges, each pose different but equally challenging problems for contractors. Nowhere were these problems more intimidating than in the south west of the Kingdom, where mountain ranges soar to 3,000 meters. A series of projects, involving the construction of magnificent viaducts, has been undertaken so that even the more inaccessible parts of the Kingdom in this region may now be reached by road.
By the end of 2000, the Kingdom had 30,319 kilometers of asphalted road.
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Bahrain Causeway
Probably the most spectacular road construction project of all has been the building of the King Fahd Causeway, connecting the Saudi Arabian mainland with the island of Bahrain. On 11th November, 1982, the cornerstone of the bridge was jointly placed by King Fahd and the then ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa. This is a four-lane highway, 25 meters wide and about 26 kilometers long. Building works, costing US$ 1.2 billion, financed entirely by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, were completed in 1986 (1406/07 AH) and the Causeway was opened to traffic at the end of that year.
In 2001, 2.7 million cars, carrying over 10 million passengers, had used this causeway.
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Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO)
With the building of the road network, it became possible to expand the public transport services. In 1399 AH (1979), the Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) was established. From small beginnings, SAPTCO has grown into a national bus service, providing cheap public transport within and between major population centers. SAPTCO's services continue to expand as it increases the size of its fleet and upgrades the quality of its vehicles. Each year, SAPTCO faces and meets a particular challenge when pilgrims arrive from all over the Kingdom and from all over the world to perform the annual pilgrimage to the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah. It assigns about 2,000 buses every season for services in the Holy Cities. It also operates regular international passenger services between the Kingdom and Egypt, Jordan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Turkey. Saudi Public Transport Company
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Railways
Railways remain the least developed means of transportation in the Kingdom. There are vast distances to cover, in often adverse environmental conditions, and it was inevitable that airline services seem to be a more practical mode of transportation to a country undertaking a major development program in the second half of the twentieth century.
The Kingdom's railways currently consists primarily of a single track, standard-gauge line, running for 570 kilometers from Riyadh to Dammam in the eastern region. This line which was opened in 1951 (1370/71 AH), passes through Dhahran, Abqaiq, Hofuf, Harad and al-Kharj and has benefited from substantial renovation in recent years. An additional line joining Hofuf with Riyadh was opened in 1985 (1405/06 AH).
The Kingdom's railways are managed by the Saudi Arabian Railway Corporation (now the Saudi Railways Organization), established in 1976 (1396 AH) as an independent public utility, governed by a board of directors.
Saudi Railways
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Air Transport
Civil aviation occupies a special place in any account of the Kingdom's transportation systems.
In 1945 (1364 AH), Franklin D Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, presented a DC-3 Dakota to the late King Abdul Aziz. Quick to realize the contribution that air travel could make to the development of the Kingdom, the King promptly ordered two more planes.
These three planes formed the embryo of what has grown into Saudi Arabian Airlines, the Kingdom's flag carrier, and now one of the world's leading airlines - an airline which has in its fleet today more than 100 aircraft (including a number of Boeing 747s, Boeing 777s and Airbuses) and which, in early 1999, had 24 local and 52 international stations and was transporting 12.7 million passengers and 253 million kilogram of cargo. The airline continues to expand to meet increasing demand.
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International Airports
The Kingdom has three international airports. In 1981 (1401/02 AH), the late King Khalid opened the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jiddah. This airport, which has special facilities for handling the annual influx of pilgrims performing Hajj, has a land area of 105 square kilometers.
The King Khalid International Airport was opened in 1983 (1403/04 AH). Located 35 kilometers north of Riyadh, with a land area of 225 square kilometers, the King Khalid International Airport is a masterpiece of modern architecture, blending traditional Arab design with the requirements of efficiency, and incorporating into the whole the essential Islamic character of the Kingdom. It is decorated with the works of many Saudi artists. It has four terminals and, from its inauguration, had the capacity to handle 7.5 million passengers a year. By 2000, its capacity had doubled.
The third international airport, the King Fahd International Airport, is at Dhahran. The King Fahd International Airport has an area of 780 square kilometers, making it the largest airport in the Kingdom. There are two parallel runways, each 4,000 meters long. The airport has the capacity to handle 7 million passengers annually.
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Domestic Airports
In addition to the construction of these three international airports, domestic airports are being systematically expanded. There are 22 regional and local airports, linking all parts of the Kingdom.
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Saudi Arabian Airlines
Civil aviation has grown in parallel with the Kingdom's ambitious development plans. Its advantage over road and rail in terms of speed for users has made it the transportation mode of choice and its contribution to the Kingdom's successful progress cannot be over-estimated.
Of its history, Saudi Arabian Airlines makes the following proud claims:
The airline has played a vital role in the development of the country. Well before the Kingdom's road network was built, Saudi Arabian Airlines made possible access to the most remote areas of the country, providing a network of transport and communication that was essential for the development of commerce and industry, education, health care and other urban amenities.
Internationally, Saudi Arabian Airlines has also played an important role in the Kingdom's development. Within two years of its founding, Saudi Arabian Airlines began operations outside the Kingdom. Within the space of a little more than a decade, it became the region's largest airline. Today, with over 12 million passengers carried each year and an international network linking 50 cities on four continents, Saudi Arabian Airlines is one of the world's major airlines and ranks 15th among the 165 member airlines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Saudi Arabian Airlines
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Shipping and Ports
- Jiddah Islamic Port
The Jiddah Islamic Port is the busiest of all the Kingdom's ports. It is the principal commercial port and the main port of entry for pilgrims on their way to the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah. In 1975 (1395 AH), Jiddah imported 2,811,000 tons, which represented almost half of all imports to the Kingdom in that year. In 1984 (1404/05 AH), the volume of imports reached a peak of 20,762,000 tons. In 1987 (1407/08 AH), Jiddah was visited by a total of 5,341 ships and imported 14,935,000 tons. This represented 21% of all imports by weight to the Kingdom in that year. In 1994, Jiddah was visited by 4,805 vessels and imported 15,276,411 tons. In 2000/2001, the Jiddah Islamic Port handled 23,011,579 tons of cargo.
As well as providing the main point of entry for industrial and consumer goods, the Jiddah Islamic Port is the Kingdom's main port for the importation of livestock.
- King Abdul Aziz Port at Dammam
The King Abdul Aziz Port at Dammam ranks second to Jiddah as a commercial port. Like Jiddah it boasts a fully equipped repair yard. In 1975 (1395 AH), Dammam imported 2,486,000 tons (approximately 40% of the total entering the Kingdom that year). Imports through Dammam reached a peak of 14,515,000 tons in 1982 (1402/03 AH). In 1987 (1407/08 AH), Dammam was visited by a total of 3,288 ships and imported 7,322,000 tons (10.5% of total imports in that year). In 1994 (1414/15 AH), Dammam was visited by 2,022 vessels and imported 6,603,817 tons. In 2000/2001 King Abdul Aziz Port handled 13,740,338 tons of cargo.
- Commercial Port at Jizan
The commercial port at Jizan, which is the main port in the south of the country, imported 100,000 tons in 1975 (1395 AH). The import figure reached a peak in 1983 - 1403/04 AH (1,724,000 tons), reducing to 722,000 tons in 1987 (1407/08 AH). In 1987 (1407/08 AH), Jizan port was visited by 122 ships. In 1994 (1414/15 AH), Jizan was visited by 678 vessels and imported 310,005 tons. In 2000/2001, it handled 1,840,488 tons of cargo.
- Jubail Commercial Port
The Jubail Commercial Port imported 849,000 tons in 1978 (1398/99 AH), reaching a peak of 2,199,000 tons in 1985 (1405/06 AH). In 1987 (1407/08 AH), the commercial port at Jubail imported 1,612,000 tons. In 1994 (1414/15 AH), Jubail was visited by 1,215 vessels and imported 1,127,112 tons.
In 2000/2001, the port handled 2,145,676 tons of cargo.
- Commercial Port at Yanbu
The commercial port at Yanbu imported 687,000 tons in 1975 (1395 AH). Imports peaked at 2,874,000 in 1984 (1404/05 AH). Then, after a sharp fall in 1985 (1405/06 AH), imports began to rise again in 1986 (1406/07 AH). The import figure for 1987 (1407/08 AH), was 2,505,000 tons. In 1994, Yanbu was visited by 1,082 vessels and imported 1,123,659 tons. In 2000/2001, it handled 2,005,318 tons of cargo.
- Dhiba Port
Dhiba Port is strategically located at the north end of the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. It is a natural harbor protected on all three sides by hills. This port has vast hinterland on the inland frontier up to the northeast coast of Saudi Arabia and extends up to the Mediterranean Sea on the maritime front. It is the nearest Saudi port to the Suez Canal and other Egyptian ports.
Dhiba is the latest Saudi port - developed to serve the north west region of the Kingdom. There are three berths, which are supplied with fresh water either by shore installations or by barge. An hotel with boarding and lodging facility, a supermarket and a bank are under construction inside the Port area. A fuel station, a supermarket and lodging are also being built outside the Port. In 2000/2001, it handled 441,608 tons of cargo.
Saudi Ports Authority
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