Faisal, Emir of Makkah, has said that King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has ordered the “Jeddah crisis” to be tackled “as soon as possible irrespective of cost”. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Prince Khaled said that King Abdullah asked for the situation to be addressed as quickly as possible and in the best possible way, no matter the costs of the projects involved. Prince Naif, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, has also asked the Makkah Emir to provide him with a “complete overview” of the current situation in Jeddah and the needs of its residents. “The Umm Al-Khair district is not a new, planned zone, it is an old and decrepit area,” Prince Khaled said of one of the hardest hit areas during Wednesday's rains. “It will be demolished in its entirety to make Jeddah a modern, organized city, and not as things currently stand in Umm Al-Khair.” The Emir made the comments after launching an affordable housing project in Makkah, a move that will provide 4,000 housing units over four years and, according to Prince Khaled, “fill a gap in demand for housing in Makkah”. “That is particularly important given that a large number of districts are slated to be demolished, notably those in which there has been uncontrolled building, as that will require the provision of alternative housing,” he said. “Housing projects are being accelerated in the Makkah Region and other cities in the Kingdom to cope with the demand over the next few years.”
