JEDDAH: Bulldozers and cranes began dismantling the famous Khuzam International Swimming Pool and the park attached to it yesterday morning, marking the first phase of the 3,000-square-meter Khuzam development project in Jeddah’s Al-Nuzlah district.
Ali Al-Malki, official at Al-Raed Al-Mauthoq Company, subcontractors of Dar Al-Arkan, said the demolition is expected to last from 30 to 60 days.
“The project is working according to its original plans and will be initiated in several parallel phases in cooperation with the Jeddah municipality,” said Abdullatif Al-Shallash, chairman of Khuzam Real Estate Company, the project’s developing company that is owned by Dar Al-Arkan and the Jeddah Urban Development Company.
Al-Shallash expressed optimism in the municipality’s urban-development future. “We are working to make Jeddah one of the biggest tourism cities, especially as it is the gateway to the two holy cities,” he added.
Indeed, if religious-inspired travel were included in global tourism statistics, Saudi Arabia would be one of the most visited countries.
Jeddah, which has historically been the principal seaport of entry for Haj and Umrah pilgrims, has always benefited from welcoming and providing housing and services to the guests of God.
The Khuzam development project is meant to set an example for the other 25 unorganized areas and districts in the city, he said.
The project’s initial phase includes the demolition of more than 11,000 buildings in the area. Owners have been compensated and the properties have been handed to the project’s supervising committee. The rest of the buildings will be demolished in subsequent phases.
According to a municipal official, only 3,200 buildings had proper deeds while owners of as many as 8,000 buildings do not have official documents.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah inaugurated the Khuzam development project last year in a special ceremony held in Obhur.
