Some owners of real estate expropriated by the Al-Shamiah expansion project in Makkah have objected to the appraisal system which has set the value of their property at SR15,000 to SR20,000 per square meter. The Appraisal Committee responsible for the evaluation of Makkah land and real estate has given owners who have declined to sign appraisal agreement deeds the choice of consent or of filing complaints with the Board of Grievances. More than 1,000 properties have already been assessed and 90% of them demolished over the past three months The disgruntled property owners indicated that they were surprised at the Committee's appraisals as they considered their property to be among the most valuable in that it was located only 250 meters from the Holy Mosque. According to these owners, other property located tens of kilometers from the mosque has been appraised at SR 50,000 per square meter. They declared that they would challenge the land appraisal before the Board of Grievances. Sharif Mansour Abou Riyash, chairman of the Real Estate Committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Appraisal Committee, said that the property valued at SR 15,000 per square meter was situated in an area inhabited by squatters and illegal residents, and was mostly built on low land. Added to this was the fact that the fronts of the buildings were extremely narrow and that the buildings were no more than two floors high and overlooked back streets. “We have done everything we can to appraise these buildings in favor of their owners. Although they are located in undesirable areas, we have taken other factors into account, such as, whether they overlook the Holy Mosque, are located on a back street which leads to a main one, or have car parks. We have favored these buildings over others where cars are unable to reach,” he said. “We have taken 13 factors into consideration and have divided buildings into six categories, including, among others, those overlooking the Holy Mosque and main streets for category A buildings, the number of facades, and whether the land is level or on a hill,” he added. Abou Riyash pointed out that the highest compensation offered in the expansion project was SR 450,000 per square meter, representing the appraisal for a property with four facades overlooking three main streets in the immediate vicinity of the northern gate of the Haram. He explained that a Royal Decree made it clear that property owners who did not accept the Committee's evaluation should file an objection with the Board of Grievances within 30 days of receiving the appraisal notice. – Okaz __
