The Ministry of Transport and Communications reports that it is planning to carry out an ambitious plan for the development of national manpower and improvement of their skills through organization of training courses and seminars.  In 1996, with an allocation of SR 581 million (U.S. $ 155 million) for the development of the road network, 2,239 km of new roads were opened.  Over the period of the first five five-year development plans (1970-1994), the length of asphalted roads in the Kingdom jumped from 12,169 to 41,865 km, and of paved roads from 8,510 km to 92,033 km.

The Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) reports that in 1996 its buses carried 928 million passengers within Saudi cities, and another 46 million on inter-city routes, plus over one million passengers on the international routes.  As for sea transport, in 1996 there were 110 marine transportation companies registered, with 172 passenger ships.

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