MAKKAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said yesterday the governorate was determined to overcome all obstacles before implementing the project to develop impoverished neighborhoods of Makkah.
Prince Khaled was speaking while presiding over a meeting of the executive committee of the Project for Development of Undeveloped Neighborhoods in Makkah.
Following the meeting, Prince Khaled, along with the committee members, inspected the King Abdul Aziz Road project, the first of a series of projects where work has already begun.
Prince Khaled congratulated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on the fourth anniversary of his accession to throne. The governor said the launch of the project was the realization of one of King Abdullah’s dreams. The committee has been striving to implement the project in line with orders from the higher authorities, he added.
“The project also aims at offering the best services to Haj and Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque in a manner befitting the sanctity of Makkah and its standing in the Muslim world,” he said.
Participants in the meeting discussed various issues, including encroachment of public lands, measures to be taken to improve the conditions of residents in project areas and ways to rehabilitate them.
The meeting discussed steps to deal with people who violate residence and labor regulations in those areas and reviewed steps taken in the speedy implementation of the project.
During the visit, Prince Khaled said: “I congratulate Saudi Arabia and Muslims all over the world because of this project, which in my view is the first project of transforming a neighborhood from the third world into the first world. We heard from the developer that the project, an ideal model for cooperation between the private sector and the government, would take three years to complete.” The governor also urged property owners in undeveloped areas to cooperate in making the project a big success. There are several similar projects planned in Makkah, Jeddah and Taif.
