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The Kingdom's six Development Plans have
ensured significant growth and progress in all sectors, including
infrastructure projects.
In the education sector, the Kingdom
has more than five million students at various educational levels for
boys and girls, served by 380,000 teachers. Female educational
institutions included more than 2.29 million students with about
200,000 female teachers. The Kingdom's eight universities and teacher
training colleges, as well as polytechnic and health colleges, have
492,000 students and more than 19,000 academic staff.
In the health sector, the number of
government and private hospitals in the country reached 314 in 1419AH
with 45,729 beds. There are 226 government hospitals, supported by
1,760 health centers. The number of physicians in all health sectors
was 31,000, while there were 68,000 nurses, in addition to more than
37,000 auxiliary medical services personnel.
In the communications sector, the
length of the road network reached 152,000 kilometers of asphalted and
paved roads in 1419AH. Up to 1418AH, implementation of the road
network projects in the country had a total cost of more than SR
147,000 million. The number of wharves at seaports reached 183 in
1419AH, while there were 25 airports, including three international
airports. Saudi Arabian Airlines' fleet includes 125 planes with more
than 2,000 pilots, including 900 Saudi pilots.
In the telecommunications sector, the
Kingdom, in 1420 AH, had 3,848,914 telephone lines and its mobile
service covered more than 11.29 million subscribers. The number of
telex exchanges reached more than 20,000 in 1418/1419AH.
The Kingdom has also made
considerable progress in the field of power generation. Up to 1420AH,
the Kingdom’s power generation capacity amounted to 21,679
megawatts.
In the agricultural sector, the
Kingdom has attained self-sufficiency in the field of food security in
most agricultural products. The production of crops amounted to about
2,334,000 tons.
In 1997, the Kingdom's vegetable
production amounted to 2.6 million tons, which comprised of 1.15
million tons of fruits and 650,000 tons of dates. It also produced, in
the same year, more than 2.3 billion eggs.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Water
has set up more than 19 dams with a storage capacity of more than 778
million cubic meters, at a total cost of about SR three billion.
In order to make desalinated water
available, 27 desalination stations were set up at the Red Sea and the
Arabian Gulf. In 1419/1420 AH, these water desalination stations
produced more than 775 million cubic meters of desalinated water.
In the industrial sector, the number
of productive factories reached 3,381 up to the third quarter of
1421AH, with an invested capital of about SR239 billion and provided
employment to about 3,110,000 workers.
The Saudi Industrial Development Fund
extended about 2,154 loans valued at more than SR35.68 billion up to
1419-1420AH. The Saudi Credit Bank extended loans worth about SR6.15
billion up to 1418-1419AH.
In the Holy cities of Makkah and
Madinah, the Kingdom spent more than SR70 billion on various projects,
including the expansion projects at the Two Holy Mosques and the
development of the surrounding areas.
The Madinah-based King Fahd Holy
Quran Printing Complex, which is as one of the biggest printing centers
in the world, produced, up to mid-1420AH, more than 145 million copies
of the Holy Quran and translations of its meaning.
The number of sports clubs in the
Kingdom has reached 154. There are 19 youth clubs, 17 sports and
cultural centers, 112 integrated sports cities, in addition to 24
sports venues for the clubs.
SOURCE: SPA
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