Investments in Jeddah public parks halted

Jeddah residents have criticized investments that monopolize more than 90 percent of public parks while at the same time they provide poor services.
Meanwhile, Jeddah mayor's office said it had halted granting investment contracts for these parks, while only continuing the existing investments that comply with the terms and conditions of the contracts and withdrawing the violators.
Abdulaziz Al-Nahari, spokesman for mayor's office, told a local newspaper that the public parks secretariat had allocated a special budget for operating and maintaining 96 public parks in Jeddah alone.
“The yearly budget of the mayor's office allocates a proportion to establish parks, but nonetheless, we are keen to hold strategic partnerships with the private sector with defined specifications,” he said.
He denied reports that the secretariat intended to build headquarters for chiefs of districts on space taken out of the parks’ land. “We only propose locations and prepare them with the cooperation of the neighborhoods.”
Although designs of parks were modest, Al-Nahari stressed the fact that their implementation, with the partnership of the private sector, was according to specially defined specifications and should provide services that match those available at public parks in Gulf and European countries.
He said that Prince Majed Park would be further developed, as it lacks amenities.
A former official at the secretariat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the idea of investing in public parks had always been rejected. “Investors here build a wall surrounding the area they invest in, with a café and restaurant, which results in the total failure of the concept of investing in public parks in the country.”
He said in other countries, investors usually vie to invest in this sector and provide the best services with nominal charges as well as various facilities and recreational tools.
He explained that any investor could not acquire more than 70 percent of the space, only after getting an authorization of the investment department of the secretariat. “But, if the community members are prone to any damages as a result and no proper services are provided, the committee would take action to penalize the investor and rehabilitate the place anew for visitors,” he pointed out.
A permanent solution for this problem, he noted, is to reassess the invested parks, and then sort out their conditions into categories: good, bad, and very bad, after which their contracts can be withdrawn if they are ranked in the last category.
The other solution he suggested is to allow investments only after obtaining an authorization conditioned by providing a benefit for the park, and not for the sake of gaining an income.