Mohammad Al-Khelaifi and Omar Abdulwahid being treated in Al-Noor Hospital in Makkah. — Okaz photo Ashwaq Al-Tuwairqi Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — Increased rents as a result of the expansion project around Makkah's central area and neighborhoods have forced many small businesses to relocate to other neighborhoods. Rents in these neighborhoods have greatly increased and became unaffordable for small businesses, causing some to relocate to areas outside residential neighborhoods, or close down. Ahmad Halal owns a plumbing equipment store in the Al-Nakkasah neighborhood and was paying SR40,000 in annual rent. He was asked to evacuate his shop, which was to be removed for the expansion projects, and searched for a shop in another neighborhood. However, he was shocked at the high rents, which ranged between SR100,000 and SR130,000 a year. He said that such rents are not affordable to small businesses like groceries, bakeries, cafeterias, and so on, and he had to relocate to a shop in Al-Jamoum governorate near Makkah. Saed Azb and Osamah Abdulhaleem were partners in a small supply and bakery shop and had to break their partnership and close their business. They considered relocating to another neighborhood, but when they recalculated their annual profit, they realized that it was not sufficient to cover rent, salaries, maintenance, and other expenses. Abu Samer also had to close his small grocery store in the Al-Shwkiah neighborhood, because the landlord has raised the annual rent from SR45,000 to SR90,000. Many residents of limited income neighborhoods complained that if this trend continues there will be no more small shops in their neighborhoods to provide essential services. They said that this will force women and older people to travel to other neighborhoods daily for their needs, which is difficult as many of them do not have transportation. Head of the real estate committee at Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Mansour Abu Rayyash, said around 80,000 such businesses in Makkah's central area will have be removed. He added that this has resulted in doubling rents, and the price of a square meter of land has reached SR50,000, which is impossible for small businesses to pay. He noted that many small businesses have relocated to neighborhoods that had no such businesses, which he believes is a positive. He suggested that the municipality should intervene in solving this problem by preparing abandoned and marginalized public parks for such businesses to operate. Abu Rayyash believes that this is much better than having cafeterias open in these parks.
