RIYADH — Minister of Transport Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser said that the Kingdom’s transportation sector has achieved full Saudization in many professions, including the guided vehicle activity, in which there are more than 847,000 drivers, including 6,161 female drivers. The total revenues from this activity reached more than SR6 billion over the last three years, he said. Attending a Saudi Television program, the minister said that the Saudization covered the car rental business outlets as well as the professions of air traffic controller and co-pilot. He stated that the upgraded transport system has contributed to the transportation and the return of 60,000 citizens to the Kingdom during the pandemic period. Similarly, 75 million tons of goods were shipped using many passenger aircraft, in addition to supervising the transport of more than 23,000 Saudis who have tested negative from quarantine facilities to major airports. Al-Jasser said the transport system has a major role in ensuring the efficiency of supply chains during the pandemic period. “Despite the global decline in the activities of ports, the Kingdom’s ports have achieved an increase in the number of container handling, reaching 8,633,773 containers, an increase of five percent while handling of transshipment containers achieved an increase of 10.34 percent.” While referring to the acceleration in the development of the railway sector, Al-Jasser said: “The Crown Prince has a great interest in the railway sector, and we have great opportunities to invest in this sector. “The Saudi Railway Company (SAR) achieved a record last October with transporting more than a million tons in just one month, bringing the total transportation since 2011 to 58 million tons.” On the road networks in the Kingdom, Al-Jasser said that the Kingdom has a road network that is first in the world in terms of its interconnectedness. “We are working rapidly to raise the level of safety and maintenance on this network, which has contributed to reducing the rate of accidents by 56 percent, deaths by 51 percent and injuries by 30 percent,” he added.