MAKKAH — After the recent decision to close down the Bab Shareef market for safety reasons, the authorities have allowed investors to raise the annual rent for new shops in the market. Mohammed Saeed Besbih, a merchant, said a large number of traders are suffering following the move by property developers to double the rent for shops after several property owners in Bab Shareef have entered into lease contracts with them. "Unfortunately, investors don't care about any losses vendors and traders incur, especially those who have recently suffered huge financial losses exceeding SR100,000 due to the recent decision of the municipality to close down most of the shops in Bab Shareef citing safety," Besbih said. He said annual rents for commercial shops in Bab Shareef range from SR75,000 to SR120,000. Another trader, Abdullah Qasim Rashid, said the number of shops in Bab Shareef is between 600 and 700 and the average total daily turnover of a shop is SR2,000, which may increase in Ramadan and Haj seasons. "There are shops that make a profit of more than SR4,000, but these are mainly large shops. You can imagine the size of the loss incurred by traders in the market due to the decision of the municipality," he said. Chairman of the real estate evaluation committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Al-Ahmari said the market, despite being old and lacking services and facilities, was targeted due to its proximity to Historic Jeddah. The rise in store rents is caused by huge demand. "The stalls are either rented out or belong to shops," he said. Al-Ahmadi said the long term lease is not different from conventional renting, where property owners lease the real estate to single tenants directly.
