Amman, August 29 (Petra) – Minister of Public Works and Housing, Maher Abul Samen, affirmed the ministry has adopted a "proactive" plan and approach to manage road infrastructure.

He noted that this plan focuses on adapting to climate change effects and learning from past rainy seasons to enhance the road network's readiness and its ability to withstand extreme weather conditions.

In a statement issued Saturday, Abul Samen said the ministry has shifted from treating the effects of weather depressions as emergencies to addressing their root causes and mitigating their recurrence through "sustainable" engineering solutions, based on technical studies and risk assessments.

He added that preparations for the upcoming rainy season began "immediately" after the previous winter ended.

As for their scope, he said these operations aimed to monitor locations that experienced rainwater accumulation, landslides, and road closures, and developed a plan that featured construction projects and preventative maintenance work across various governorates.

All aimed at cutting recurrence of landslides and erosion., Abul Samen stated the solutions included the construction and expansion of box and pipe culverts, rehabilitation of hydraulic structures, construction of retaining walls and gabion cages, and implementation of lateral ditches and stormwater drainage channels.

He noted that the ministry implemented 8 major projects this year to address the damage caused by depressions and landslides nationwide.

Additionally, he said the ministry addressed the collapse of the Wadi Shuaib road and landslides on the King's Highway in Tafila and Karak governorates.

According to the ministry, besides these major enterprise, 32 road projects were implemented this year at a cost of JD23.3 million, with a total length exceeding 92 kilometers.

8 lighting projects were also implemented at a cost exceeding JD1 million.

In preparation for the upcoming rainy season, the Public Works Directorates have launched a campaign to clean and maintain stormwater drainage facilities within a network comprising more than 5,400 box culverts and pipes.

This effort aims to address critical areas and enhancing the readiness of operations rooms, personnel, machinery, and equipment.

Abul Samen underlined the ministry continues to implement its projects, in accordance with technical priorities based on risk assessments and is also working to update databases of the most vulnerable sites and review hydrological studies.

He affirmed this process seeks to solidify a "proactive and preventative" approach, improve infrastructure resilience, enhance traffic safety, and minimize damage and losses.

//Petra// AG