Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Ihsan Bafakih, governor of the State Properties General Authority (SPGA), said that the payment of compensation for properties that were demolished in Jeddah for redevelopment will start after 60 days from now.

He said that only 10-15 percent of the properties that are either demolished or marked for razing have legal ownership documents.

Attending the program titled “In the Picture” on Rotana Khalijia channel, Bafakih said that after each demolition work, committees are formed to appraise the value of the properties and compensation will be paid for the demolished properties within six months.

He said that in the areas that have been expropriated and that are marked to be expropriated the percentage of ownership with title deeds ranges from 10 percent to 15 percent and the overwhelming majority of the remaining areas are constructions on illegal land.

Bafakih said that the criteria issued by SPGA for those residing in slums and random neighborhoods are applicable to all such areas all over the Kingdom. “There is no stratification in the standards, and what was done in Khuzama and Diriyah is the same as what is being done in the slums of Jeddah and any other regions,” he added.