MAKKAH — Yusuf Al-Ahmadi, a member of the Real Estate Appraisal Committees in the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said the value of demolished properties lacking title deeds has reached SR6 billion at an average rate of SR600,000 per property, Al-Sharq Arabic daily reported. Al-Ahmadi said the properties, about 1,000 in total, are distributed in districts such as Jabal Al-Sharashef, the parallel road (Al-Tariq Al-Muwazi), Shaab Amer and Dahlat Harb. He demanded that the situation of these properties be finalized so that the owners are compensated. He added that there are over 60 unplanned sites in Makkah that have been demolished. He further said that this situation might cause a housing crisis if there is no clear mechanism for compensating and providing housing to dwellers of the unplanned areas. Al-Ahmadi called on Al-Balad Al-Amin Company, the investment arm of Makkah Municipality, to expedite the planning of its plots at Makkah Gate, an area spread over 83 million square meters. These can be granted to dwellers of unplanned districts along with compensations for their demolished properties so that they are able to build homes. Al-Ahmadi called for the handing over of these sites to the pertinent government agencies so they can start constructing new facilities and allocate some of the sites to build residential units and distribute them to citizens. Al-Afkar Company, which Al-Ahmadi owns, is ready to bear the costs of designing project maps. Mansour Abu Rayash, chairman of the appraisal committee at the MCCI, estimated earlier the total value of expropriated property, without title deeds, at SR8 billion. He said the ownership of these properties had been transferred to the government but the owners were not compensated due to some technicalities with their title deeds and issues related to heirs. Abu Rayash confirmed the owners' right to demand compensation for the value of the properties from the date of demolition until payment of compensation for properties facing technical problems.
