The Saudi capital got more breathing space with the opening of 10 public parks by Riyadh Emir Prince Faisal Bin Bandar here on Monday. These environmental and recreational projects spread over an area of more than 150,000 square meters cover a number of neighborhoods in the capital. Earlier this month, the authorities retrieved 111 plots of lands from a total of 500 plots occupied by businessmen and realtors who had made them part of palaces and villas west of Jeddah. The verdict came after the authorities urged the court in Riyadh to study the real estate scam involving businessmen and real estate agents. The case was presented to the Riyadh court seven months ago by a group of lawyers. A similar land grab case has surfaced in a district north of Jeddah, Al-Watan said. The land was originally allocated to establish a park. Later some well-known businessmen occupied the land and made it part of their property, the paper reported. This scam involves occupation of thousands of meters of public land where individuals have now constructed palaces and villas, the paper said.
