JEDDAH: The Administrative Court in Jeddah has received the first lawsuit filed by a group of citizens against government agencies setting prices of property seized for constructing the Haramain Train. In their complaint, plaintiffs protested the values set by a committee assigned by the Ministry of Transportation to determine compensation for their property. The court said the first session will be held in the middle of February. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs asked for the formation of a committee including judges and real estate experts to reappraise the property values and argued that the committee appraisals are below the current market prices. One plaintiff allegedly said property owners had earlier approached the committee and expressed their discontent, but its members ignored them, which led them to file the lawsuit. The committee has said 670 pieces of property needed to be seized or demolished to make way for the train. The committee is made up of representatives from the ministries of Interior, Justice, Finance and Transport; and officials from the Jeddah Mayoralty, Saudi Railways Organization and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A member of the committee who declined to give his name said the lawsuit does not affect the committee's work to assess property. “The committee will only stop its work if the court issues a verdict to stop the project,” he said. He said the owners have the right to object to the compensation decisions and added that the committee has not fixed a date for land-owners to vacate their property. He said the committee has set a rate of SR700 per square meter of property not located in the vicinity of Makkah Highway and SR2,000 for land near the road.
