When the Saudi Ministry of Transport was established in 1372H corresponding to 1593 there were only 239 kilometers long roads available, the figure was very small compared to the total land area of Saudi Arabia with thousands of cities, towns, villages and population gathering points scattered hundreds of kilometers far from one anther.

Among the major concerns of the Saudi Ministry of Transport was to build a network of asphalted roads to link between the different parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to serve maximum number of cities, towns and villages. To achieve that historical objective, it was necessary to start wise planning process and to conduct modern studies following the latest art of technology for the construction of an advanced network of asphalted roads as soon as possible and at the lowest possible costs. The network was planned to pave a way for other development sectors planned by the government before, it was also necessary to start from the point in which the other stopped.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport conducted a comprehensive preliminary studies including collection of information, identification of requirements and determination of priorities, after a thorough securitization of the collected information, it had been decided to realize the objective in three stages,

The first stage aimed at linking the main areas with an individual asphalted network of roads.
The second stage was to develop and expand the network by changing some of the main roads from single lane to double lanes.

The third stage was to develop levels of services at the network and provide it with all means of safety.

To know more about the size of the great achievements realized by the Saudi Ministry of Transport since its establishment in 1372H corresponding to 1953, up to date, let’s review the following facts and figures.

In 1372H corresponding to 1593 there were only 239 kilometers long roads available.

In early 1390H corresponding to 1970, which marked the start of first development plan in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the figure became 8500 kilometers, in addition to 3500 kilometers of paved but not asphalted roads in the agricultural areas.

By the end of the second year of the 7th development plan, the total length of the roads network in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia reached 150000 kilometers divided as follows:
Main, subsidiary and branch roads  47000 kilometers.
Paved but non asphalted roads  111700 kilometers.
Total length of roads network  158770 kilometers

Saudi Ministry of Communication:
www.mot.gov.sa