Workers in Makkah have been stopped from carrying out construction plans after the mayoralty was presented with 120-year-old title deed laying claim to the land being worked on. The mayoralty had contracted a national company to execute projects at the Crown Prince Plots in north Makkah, but Salem Al-Shareef, representing the claimants, says he has a deed proving ownership. “The owners have a deed testified by the General Court in Makkah showing all the boundaries of the site and dated 1889,” Al-Shareef said. “The mayoralty was informed of the issue several times, and the Council of Ministers instructed the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs not to sign any contracts for civic projects in the disputed area.” “The Ministry of Justice was also asked not to issue deeds to citizens who had been given the grants, but despite all this the mayoralty has forged ahead in issuing deeds and building permits,” he added.
