Six projects including four high-rise buildings of between 50 and 80 floors to be located at the Corniche, King Abdul Aziz Road and Al-Amana Street, have been given final permits by the Jeddah mayoralty to begin construction work. Mayoralty head of “groundbreaking projects” Fawwaz Bakhatma said that initial approval has been given to a total of 15 projects, allowing investors to complete planning designs and then approach the government with their plans. The mayoralty, Bakhatma said, plans to further increase the number of such projects in accordance with new regulations for the construction of high-rise buildings, such as, not blocking the sea-front and maintaining at least a 25-meter distance between buildings. Meanwhile, the Jeddah mayoralty has repeated its calls to owners of close-to-collapse buildings and abandoned premises to approach the mayoralty during the announced period of grace if they wish to avoid having their property demolished. Mayoralty head of Government Relations Ali Bin Muhammad Al-Ghamdi said two buildings in a dangerous state of disrepair in the Al-Baghdadiya District were recently torn down, with a further four buildings on the list of premises to be demolished. The moves are in accordance with orders from the governor to immediately remove properties close to collapse which represent a threat to residents, Al-Ghamdi said, with 35,000 sq. meters of property removed last year as part of the same scheme. Next month is the deadline for the contract to prepare and issue technical reports on 530 buildings which are in danger of collapse in Jeddah. Four hundred such reports were issued in the last two years. Al-Ghamdi said the new two-year contract incorporates 1,000 buildings and includes soil and concrete tests.
