Municipality shuts down 10 fuel stations in Dammam 

(MENAFN - Arab News) The Eastern Province municipality recently ordered the closure of 10 fuel stations for not improving their services.

A municipal committee took the penal measures after inspecting 42 fuel stations in the East Dammam branch municipality, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported yesterday.

"The municipality decided to take strong measures after the owners of 10 stations refused to follow municipal instructions regarding their facilities and services," the municipality's Public Relations Director Muhammad Al-Safyan said.

The local authority had earlier instructed all petrol stations to take certain measures to ensure better services and safety.

The move is part of an integrated municipal program to develop and improve buildings and services offered by fuel stations both inside the city limits and outside, Al-Safyan said. He warned that the municipality would close down any station that did not cooperate with the program.

The municipality set up a committee under Chairman of the East Dammam Branch Municipality Ziyad Al-Sowaidan to study how to improve petrol stations.

The monitoring department at the municipality helps the committee.

Al-Safyan said the committee gave the owners of fuel stations two weeks to submit their plans on how they were going to improve their services. The committee issues permission to undertake improvement work after studying those plans. After that a permit is issued to make the changes within two months.

While many of the station owners adhered to the municipality's instructions, only 10 of them did not cooperate, Al-Safyan said.