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Regional disparity in access to basic public services in Saudi Arabia: A sustainability challenge

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  • Gazzeh, Karim
  • Abubakar, Ismaila Rimi

Abstract

Measuring progress toward water and sanitation provision requires a sharper focus on intranational disparity in access. This paper analyses access levels to electricity, drinking water and sanitation in Saudi Arabia's thirteen provinces from an equity perspective. Substantial disparity in access to piped water and sewerage services exists across the provinces. While access to national electricity grid slightly varies from 98.6% of dwellings in the Eastern province to 95.3 in Hail province, the percentage of dwellings connected to piped water ranged from only 10% in Al-Baha province to 90.1% in the Eastern province. Only 3.6% and 5.0% of dwellings in Al-Baha and Najran provinces respectively were connected to public sewer systems, compared with 77.4% in the Eastern province. The paper concludes that key to more equitable delivery of basic public services in Saudi Arabia is to decentralize infrastructure development to provincial and municipal governments, formulate and implement water and sanitation policies with an emphasis on expanding coverage in the underserved regions and to build decentralized sewer systems.

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  • Gazzeh, Karim & Abubakar, Ismaila Rimi, 2018. "Regional disparity in access to basic public services in Saudi Arabia: A sustainability challenge," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 70-80.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:52:y:2018:i:c:p:70-80
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2018.04.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ismaila Rimi Abubakar & Umar Lawal Dano, 2020. "Sustainable urban planning strategies for mitigating climate change in Saudi Arabia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5129-5152, August.
    2. Abubakar, Ismaila Rimi, 2021. "Understanding the socioeconomic and environmental indicators of household water treatment in Nigeria," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    3. Tianyu Li & Yizheng Zhao & Xiang Kong, 2022. "Spatio-Temporal Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Basic Public Service Levels in the Yangtze River Delta Region, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-23, September.
    4. Maryati, Sri & Humaira, An Nisaa Siti & Afriana, Anita & Roekmi, Raden Ajeng Koesoemo & Suhartini, Ninik, 2021. "Developer behavior in local infrastructure provision in Indonesia: Implications for policy," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Abubakar, Ismaila Rimi & Mu'azu, Nuhu Dalhat, 2022. "Household attitudes toward wastewater recycling in Saudi Arabia," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Abdulaziz Aldegheishem, 2023. "Urban Growth Management in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: An Assessment of Technical Policy Instruments and Institutional Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Abdullah Alodah, 2023. "Towards Sustainable Water Resources Management Considering Climate Change in the Case of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-29, October.
    8. Fuqiang Dai & Hao Liu & Xia Zhang & Qing Li, 2022. "Does the Equalization of Public Services Effect Regional Disparities in the Ratio of Investment to Consumption? Evidence From Provincial Level in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    9. Dinglin Zhang & Yangyi Wu & Meitong Liu, 2023. "Characterizing Sprawl Development in Urban China: A Perspective from Urban Amenity," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, June.
    10. Ismaila Rimi Abubakar, 2022. "Multidimensional Poverty among Nigerian Households: Sustainable Development Implications," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 993-1014, November.
    11. Sri Irianti & Puguh Prasetyoputra, 2021. "Rural–Urban Disparities in Access to Improved Sanitation in Indonesia: A Decomposition Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.

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