Prince Misha'l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, has promised severe punishment for those who are found to have intentionally harmed the historic area of Old Jeddah. He said that directives have been issued in this regard. The governor was speaking during a visit to the area on Tuesday along with Prince Sultan Bin Salman, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). The governor said that an inspection will take place next week and electricity will be cut off from all houses that have wiring flaws. “The houses here are not only for their legal owners but for everyone. We need to preserve them for our children and grandchildren so they can see the history of their city, and for that we need everyone's cooperation,” Prince Misha'l said. “We will assist the owners to preserve their houses,” he added. The head of the SCTA said there have been five fires a year in the area over the past five years. Jeddah has lost 200 old buildings to fires since the buildings were categorized in 1980, he said. He said the SCTA has introduced a detailed and integrated plan for setting up a network of fire extinguishers in the area. The implementation of the project, worth about SR50 million, has been started by the mayoralty, he said. He said that the Credit Bank will grant loans to owners of properties in the area to establish economic projects like hotels and tourist villages. Adel Faqih, Jeddah Mayor, said King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has donated money for the establishment of the fire network, most of which has been completed. He said the project involves 112 fire-extinguishing units, separated by a distance of 75 meters. All units are connected to a main pumping device and a 1,500-cubic
