Citizens who have received government land grants will in a year from now be able to exchange them for housing units in developed areas with all public services, said Jeddah Mayor Adel Faqih Saturday. The mayor was speaking at a workshop hosted by the King Abdul Aziz Cultural Center with over 1,000 teachers from the Jeddah Governorate who were given an opportunity to express their opinion of the new municipal strategic development plan of the governorate. The city of Jeddah has held 13 workshops to review the strategic development plan before its final approval, the mayor said. The core projects of the plan included the development of the Old Airport zone, the unplanned Khuzam area, Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Road, formerly known as Al-Tahlia Street, Palestine Street, and North Corniche. The city has 24 bridge projects in progress now and is waiting for 67 road projects to be completed to ease traffic congestion, the mayor said. But the number of potholes in almost every single street in the city has disturbed the mayor who promised a complete overhaul of these streets once the current bridge projects are completed. For a greener Jeddah, Faqih revealed that at least 200 parks will be open to the public by the end of this year. The flood tunnel will be made into a walkway of 12 km, he said. At the end of his data show presentation of future projects in the city, the mayor opened the floor for a Q and A session with the audience. Earlier, Faqih signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) aimed at making Jeddah a better place to live and the most prosperous city in the Kingdom. The MoU was signed in the presence of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, by Faqih and Muhammad Abdul-Qader Al-Fadl, representing the JCCI. According to the MoU, which consists of seven articles and nine key issues, the agreement will help Jeddah prepare, host and organize international events and functions in future. The two sides also agreed to set up a special fund to ensure that such international events would be at a very high global standard. “This MoU reveals our constant hopes and firm determination to make Jeddah a prosperous city capable of hosting world-class international events,” Al-Fadl said at the signing ceremony. Faqih said that the solid bonds and collaboration between Jeddah Municipality and the JCCI symbolize synergetic efforts to develop strategic projects and activate the Jeddah Events Fund. According to the MoU, the JCCI will run some vocational meetings and forums and workshops for training in the field. It will also coordinate with some local and international consulting organizations to achieve the goals of the MoU. The key issues include a long-term scheme of sustaining traffic and transportation in Jeddah. The MoU also focused on the facilitating of housing projects by the combined work of both the governmental and private sectors. Aside from the signing ceremony, the JCCI and Jeddah Municipality also reached an agreement to arrange an economic content document in addition to another concerning the development of construction projects in Jeddah. “With this agreement, we urge all entrepreneurs and businessmen to establish small nonprofit businesses for the purpose of community service. We also have to tackle other related issues like environmental problems, air pollution and metropolitan services,” Faqih noted.
