JEDDAH: The Middle East Company for Industry and Paper Production has lost a lawsuit against the Ministry of Water and Electricity, which the company alleged seized its property to construct a water purification plant.
In its complaint, the company had also said compensation offered by the ministry for the land, estimated by a committee established by the ministry at SR200 per sq. meter, was too little. “The same committee put a price of SR550 per sq. meter for a neighboring plot,” it said.
The company said the ministry estimated the land to be worth SR26 million while its market price was over SR58 million. It said the ministry priced buildings on the land at SR3 million when they in fact cost over SR20 million.
A company representative asked the court to issue a ruling to halt the evacuation of the buildings and said demolishing them and leveling the land before the proper valuing of the real estate would result in harmful consequences, which could not be corrected in the future.
A ministry representative, meanwhile, presented the court with an official document proving that the ministry followed proper procedures stipulated in the Land Acquisition Law to establish the water purification and drainage plant. He said the company was asked nine times over a period of up to two years to evacuate the building and that it failed to comply. He asked the court to reject the claim, which he said lacked Shariah parameters that would make it acceptable.
The court, after several sessions, rejected the company’s complaint and said it had refused to attend meetings to estimate the price of the land and properties despite it being called nine times to do so.
