JEDDAH, 18 December 2006 — Seventy percent of Jeddah storage facilities are built randomly and illegally without licenses from the Ministry of Commerce, Al-Madinah newspaper reported quoting a municipality official.
Dia Al-Othmani, the municipality’s manager for markets, said that they are currently working on solving the problem of the warehouses by building newer, safer ones.
Many of these warehouses store foodstuffs and Al-Othmani says because they aren’t licensed there’s no guarantee that the consumable items are being stored properly.
Ismaeel Al-Sahafi, a resident of Al-Muntazahat district, said he’s seen people replacing food-expiration stickers with forged ones that indicate the food is still fresh. “They put stickers with new dates to fool us,” he said.
Adil Al-Amoudi, another resident, said the area also have shops that put brand name labels on clothes that are not branded.
Many people living around these storage facilities also complain of vermin — cockroaches, rodents and cats — that are found around these areas. They also say that illegal activities often take place in the warehouse areas. Some people run clandestine distilleries and provide shelter to illegal migrants.
“Many overstayers live there, and they can be criminals,” said Hassan Al-Mutairi, resident of Al-Muntazahat district. “They know that the municipality officials carry out inspections only during working hours and hence they stay away during that time. These facilities should be moved out of the city as soon as possible,” Al-Mutairi added.
Awad Al-Maliki who lives near a group of warehouses in north Jeddah complained of smells of burning garbage, or paint coming from nearby car-chop shops.
