Residents of areas toward the east of Jeddah began exchanging greetings via mobile phones, Internet websites and satellite channels, saying the royal decree will put an end to their suffering. They commended King Abdullah’s humanitarian gesture and his firm stance against corruption. They said the decision to penalize people who are thought to have contributed to the catastrophe was a victory.

Rashid Al-Zahrani, a resident of east Jeddah, which was badly affected by the Nov. 25 floods, commended the king for taking action against officials and businessmen for their alleged involvement in the catastrophe. “The royal decree was essential to deal with the situation.”

Saudi citizen Abdullah Al-Olyani expressed his happiness at the decision to empty the sewage lake situated close to the Ajwad district. “We have been suffering from this lake for quite a long time as it spreads diseases among the district’s population,” he said.

Suleiman Al-Muallim, a member of Al-Samir District Council, spoke about the major requirements of local residents who are estimated to number over 300,000. “We need safe passage to and from the Makkah-Madinah (Haramain) Expressway. At present the flood path is right at Barjas traffic point, the main entrance to the district,” he said. Speaking about residents’ other needs, Al-Muallim called for completing the sewage pipeline next after work on it stopped about a year ago. The district also needs a public hospital. They also want the recycling plant, north of the dumping ground, to be shifted to an area far from the residential districts.

“We also want the authorities to complete the Hada Al-Sham project in order to remove traffic bottlenecks. We also want stone crushing plants to be shifted from this area as they lead to our children and the elderly getting ill,” he said.

Meanwhile, a number of real estate businessmen said real estate prices in east Jeddah would go up following King Abdullah’s decree to develop the area. “We’ll see prices going up in the coming days,” said Mabrouk Al-Harbi.

He said the emptying of the sewage lake would have a big impact on increasing the area’s attraction.

“Many people would not buy land in the area because of the sewage lake,” he said, speaking about the musk lake that came into being about 20 years ago. He also said the price of land in the Samir, Rabie and Toufik districts will shoot up four folds in the coming months.