JEDDAH — Jeddah Mayor Hani Abu Ras has announced that the municipality has foiled attempts by land sharks to encroach on nearly 4 million square meters of government lands. He said the plots of land were located in an area that fell under the jurisdiction of the branch municipality of South Jeddah. They were regained from the encroachers with the help of the police. "We will continue our strenuous efforts to protect government lands from encroachments by land sharks," he reiterated. Chief of the South Jeddah municipality, Mohammed Al-Zahrani, said the lands were within the Al-Mulaisa land plot, located south of Al-Laith road. "The lands had been allocated for the King Abdullah Atomic and Renewable Energy (KAARE) project and the land sharks were plotting to turn them into an underdeveloped district which they would then sell to citizens," he said. Al-Zahrani said due to the size of the lands, it took the municipality three days to end the illegal encroachments. "We are currently working to protect the lands with the help of the survey department so as to hand it over to KAARE. Over the few past weeks, the Jeddah municipality has regained 1.5 million square meters of government lands in various parts of the city. It warned citizens against purchasing lands in remote plots and asked them to immediately report any attempts by land sharks to confiscate government land in the city. According to the municipality, the most vulnerable lands that are at risk of encroachment by land sharks are mostly located in the city's suburbs.
