Abandoned buildings create security, environmental risks

Abandoned construction projects, old dilapidated buildings and structures in imminent danger of collapse due to poor building methods and quality of material are plaguing many neighborhoods in cities throughout Saudi Arabia.
The Jeddah Municipality considers at least 1,000 buildings but as many as 8,000 structures perhaps faulty and among those that should be razed.
The rise in the number of unsafe buildings is due to a variety of reasons, according to Jeddah officials, builders and occupants. While many buildings are simply old, many are also in danger of collapsing due to shoddy workmanship and materials. However, municipalities are also struggling with an upsurge in the number of abandoned construction projects following the worldwide recession of 2008.
“The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs should force owners of abandoned buildings to fence off their projects through a surrounding wall,” Abdullah Radwan, chairman of the Contractors’ Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), told Arab News. “This would also remove any building material from the public space.”
According to a study issued in 2010 at the International Conference on E-Business, Management and Economics in Hong Kong, the primary causes of building construction delays in Saudi Arabia are obtaining approval for architectural plans, payment delays to contractors, cash-flow problems, design changes, labor shortages, subpar labor skills among workers and work schedule conflicts among subcontractors.
As a result, ambitious construction projects fail, leaving buildings half-finished. Abandoned buildings attract thieves, vandals and squatters. They also encourage criminal activity, local police officials said. Nearby residents often complain to police and municipality officials of criminal behavior associated with the proximity of abandoned buildings.
Last December in Dammam, for example, a decapitated body was discovered in an abandoned building.
Neglected structures have also led to significant property damage and loss of life. Last November, a massive fire destroyed most of the old Intercontinental Hotel in the Um Al-Joud neighborhood of Makkah. The hotel had been abandoned for years but still contained equipment and furnishings.
In May 2010, two women died when a four-story apartment building collapsed in the Al-Baghdadiah District of Jeddah. The building was home to about 25 families. The collapse marked the fifth time in two months that old or abandoned buildings had collapsed. One such incident in the Al-Sahefa District left six people dead.
During this period, building officials estimated that 8,000 buildings in Jeddah might be unsafe.
Abandoned construction projects have been particularly troublesome for the Jeddah Municipality because unused construction material and environmentally hazardous items pose a threat to nearby residents. Yet Jeddah officials say there is only so much that they can do.
“We issue a building license for three years,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Nahri, a spokesman for the Jeddah Municipality. “It is difficult to renew this license after that time. A building project should be completed within this period. At the same time, the Jeddah Municipality cannot force project owners to complete building before the three-year period ends,” adding that, “However, the Jeddah Municipality does tell construction companies to remove remnants of building material that occupy streets and roads.”
Without funds for cleanup operations, there is little that many construction companies can do.
“When a building owner has no money to complete his project, he will postpone completing construction work,” said Sameeh Atta, who works for a construction company that he has asked to keep anonymous. “At the same time, half-completed buildings that have been abandoned for a longer period create environmental problems through the rubble of building materials.”
Shehab Al-Marwani, a Syrian resident in Jeddah, said he fears for the safety of his family.
“My home is located in front of an abandoned construction project,” Al-Marwani said. “This building presents a refuge for rats and various kinds of insects. We also do not know what is going on in there. Abandoned buildings can provide shelter to criminals.”
Bakr Yunis, a Sudanese resident in Jeddah, agrees. “Abandoned construction projects should be inspected regularly by governmental bodies,” he said. “I have warned my children to stay away from these buildings. I also think abandoned buildings are a haven for ghosts and demons.”
In a previous interview with Arab News, Abdullah Bakr Radwan, a member of the national committee for construction at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that as many as 10 percent of all buildings in Jeddah’s old areas are a danger to their residents and require renovation.
Radwan identified these buildings in the districts of Baghdadiyah, Nuzla, Hendawiyah and Sabeel.
Tala Samrqandi, a member of the Real Estate Committee of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), told Arab News in an earlier interview that, “There are many real estate companies that want to develop old districts in Jeddah. These districts include many old buildings but the main problem is how to offer compensation that will convince them to move.”
Buildings constructed 50 years ago also pose serious safety issues. In 2010, the Jeddah Municipality and Civil Defense authorities estimated that about 2,500 buildings in the Makkah region are in danger of collapsing. During this period, Jeddah city officials moved to raze 111 old buildings. Jeddah officials prepare up to 55 reports each week on the structural integrity of old and abandoned structures.
City engineers use a special mobile lab to help them identify dangerous buildings to determine whether they require maintenance or demolition. They use ultrasound testing to determine the condition of re-barring, which provides a steel skeleton of the building and concrete. Old, abandoned buildings deemed unsafe are tagged with a sticker, but owners often fail to respond to the notification or remove the stickers.
“Committee members who identify old buildings have tried many times to find the owners of these buildings but have been unable to do so,” said a Jeddah city official.