Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — The executive agencies that are assigned to carry out the slum development project in the Kidwa area in Makkah have resumed their work from Saturday, Aug. 20, by removing more than 931 properties spreading over an area of 94,723 square meters.

The agencies are also providing various services to the owners of demolished properties, who are identified by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. These services include housing support and furniture transportation services for the neediest groups; relief assistance through the field headquarters; and offering volunteer services by charities to the dwellers of the removed slums through the National Voluntary Work Platform.

The Ministry of Interior continued to provide support and correct the status of the targeted groups in the Kidwa area in accordance with the required regulations and standards.

Dr. Amjad Maghribi, spokesman of the Project to Address the Situation of Slums in Makkah, said that the field works in Kidwa is a new phase in the development of slums, which aims at an integrated urban treatment for an area that has suffered from the deterioration of infrastructure, facilities, and services due to its proximity to 500 meters from the Grand Mosque.

“There is a priority accorded to Kidwa in the project to develop slums in Makkah. The project will transform the central region due to its strategic location by creating many investment opportunities that will be reflected in improving the quality of life of the residents, as well as improving the health, social and security services provided to them, in addition to enriching the experience of the pilgrims.

Referring to the humanitarian dimension of the project to develop slums in Makkah, Maghribi said that it aims to improve the quality of human life in slums in the city of Makkah by correcting legal status, achieving social integration, and providing opportunities for economic empowerment.

“The spatial dimension of the project aims to find lively, safe and attractive neighborhoods through achieving sustainable development via land re-using and addressing random structures through the removal of slums and redevelopment of the areas according to the data of slum areas,” he added.