MAKKAH — The municipality was able to regain land covering more than 220 million square meters from land sharks and encroachers in the past five years, according to Mayor Osama Al-Bar. “We were able to regain these plots through the help of the governorate,” he said. The mayor said strict measures have been taken to put an end to illegal encroachments on land, whether government or private owned. Al-Bar, however, made it clear that the municipality would not give the Housing Ministry more than 50 million meters of land in various locations for its housing units in the holy city. “A few months back we designated the plots of land that we intended to give to the ministry for its projects in Makkah. We will not give it more than this.” Mansour Abu Rayyash, chairman of the real estate committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there was no shortage of empty land in Makkah. “The problem is not in the scarcity of land plots but with the Housing Ministry itself, which is moving very slowly to deal with the problem of housing in Makkah and other areas,” he said. He asked the ministry to focus more on suburban areas for its housing projects and to seek the help of the private sector. “The ministry should involve the expertise of the private sector and should not be content with its own efforts alone,” he added. Abu Rayyash said Makkah would need at least 200,000 housing units in the coming 10 years, especially as the annual population growth rate in the holy city is 3 percent. — SG
