Official says situation on Ghuwaifat border is being addressed

Abu Dhabi/Riyadh: Saudi authorities on Wednesday justified the delays faced by truck drivers on the Ghuwaifat border, saying drivers crossing from the UAE violate laws.

A Saudi Embassy spokesperson told Gulf News the UAE and Saudi Arabia have set up committees to solve the problem.

He said there are a number of reasons behind the problem, which include the truck drivers themselves. Many do not have complete official documents related to their trucks and the goods they carry.

The spokesperson said some trucks do not meet Gulf specifications and standards for transportation.

"Many drivers also do not abide by customs instructions and leave their trucks parked near the border point to complete their documents," he said.

The spokesperson revealed that the Saudi government has decided to expand the Al Batha border point to double the capacity of trucks, as there has been a growing increase in the number of trucks.

"There were around 900,000 trucks crossing Al Batha border point in 2007 and that rose to around one million in 2008, which is an increase of 100,000," he said.

The spokesperson, however, said the expansion project will start after Ramadan and the summer vacations, but did not give the exact date.

He said for other vehicles crossing Ghuwaifat border, there is no issue and every car crosses the border in a span of half an hour.

In Riyadh, Saudi officials reiterated their determination to find an urgent solution.

A source in the Saudi Directorate General of Passports told Gulf News that his department would spare no effort to ensure the smooth flow of traffic between the Saudi-UAE borders.

"Efforts are currently underway to facilitate smooth flow of trade," the source said.

The Secretary General of the Chamber of Commerce in Al Ahsa town Dr Adel Al Saleh said a delegation from the Chamber paid a visit to the border post of Al Batha and discussed with the UAE authorities the reasons of the long queues of trucks and the means of solving the problem.

He said the problem could not be solved easily because it involves many dimensions. "The problem has several aspects, including the incomplete documents and sometimes non fulfillment of transit conditions, as well as non-compliance with the GCC transportation specifications," he said. Drivers also do not comply with orders issued by customs authorities.

"We have submitted a memorandum to the authorities, requesting them to improve the facilities for an easy crossing of the Batha border check point, including the setting up of restaurants, cafeterias and bathrooms because the absence of such services worsen the humanitarian situation,", he said. "We have also requested them to address the problem of staff shortage and slow procedures."

Saudi security sources attributed the slow procedures at Al Batha border to security reasons invloving the fight against drug trafficking.

They ssid Saudi Arabia is a target of a fierce war from the drug mafia.

They cited the announcement made three days ago about foiling attempts to smuggle 5.5 million tablets of Keptagon and more than three tons of hashish in various Saudi border posts including Al Batha on the borders with the UAE.