Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — The second phase of razing slums in Makkah’s Al-Nakasa neighborhood came to an end on Tuesday.

The entire Al-Nakasa neighborhood spreading over a total area of 681,056 square meters is being razed prior to its development under the urban development plan.

Al-Nakasa, which is located 1,500 meters away from the Grand Mosque, was densely populated and overcrowding with foreigners of different nationalities.

Al-Nakasa development project aims to address the negative effects resulting from the random construction in slum areas as well as to preserve the urban identity of the holy city of Makkah.

Dr. Amjad Maghribi, spokesman of the project to develop slums in Makkah, confirmed that the authorities started implementing the massive development project after the city suffered from the spread of slums and the negative effects that they produced on society as well as on its security, health and educational institutions.

The project will address the situation of the affected neighborhoods and rid them of the negative effects, he added.

Maghribi said that a ministerial committee, which was formed to develop slum areas in Makkah, approved a comprehensive strategy that covers urban, social economic, and health aspects. It provides a comprehensive solution that overcomes the phenomenon of slums and helps social and economic integration of its inhabitants, in a manner that benefits the state and the population, including citizens and foreigners.

This is based on the human dimension, which includes providing adequate housing and support for citizens, correcting the legal status of a target groups of residents and integrating them into the production and the economic cycle.

The Makkah development authorities recently announced that a massive plan to develop the remaining slum areas in the city will be implemented in the near future. The undeveloped neighborhoods in Makkah fall within a development plan upon which the Holy Capital Mayoralty has been working on since long and several phases of it have already been completed.

Large numbers of residency law violators too lived in slums that came up mainly on the mountain slopes in Nakasa and other undeveloped neighborhoods. The Royal Commission for the Makkah City and the Holy Sites has drawn up a distinctive plan to develop these slums.