JEDDAH, 2 January 2006 — Makkah police stopped the public auction of a piece of land for the second day shortly after it started. A group of citizens claimed ownership of the land and they called for police help, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.
The angry citizens entered the auction trying to stop the sale and protect the land upon which they laid claim. The land, containing around 1,300 partitioned plots, is located 12 kilometers away from the Grand Mosque to the right-hand side of the famous Makkah Gate. The total area of the land covers more than 1.6 million square meters and has a value of SR250 to SR1,200 per square meter.
Abdul Aziz Al-Essa, one of the men seeking to sell the land, said he and his partners would go ahead with the auction. He said, “We sold more than half of the plots in the first two days. Our customers are all over the Kingdom, but the number increased in Riyadh after we made a live connection between the plot in Makkah and our office in Riyadh through satellite,” said Essa.
“People who try to stop the sales are not saying the truth. We started the plot apportionments 15 months ago and we have legal documents that give us the right to sell the land. In addition, the government gave us the permission to name the area King Fahd neighborhood. Our advertisements were in the newspapers. During this whole process no one was complaining. Suddenly a few people claim that they own the plot. It is unbelievable,” he added.
He also said, “Problems like this would scare away investors. We are requesting Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed to come up with a solution and protect us and other businessmen, for the benefit of the Saudi economy.”
A police source told Al-Madinah that the case is now going to court. The court will decide who owns the land after a look at the documents provided by both sides in the dispute.
