A government source told local media that the mayoralty of Jeddah will put forth a recommendation to Prince Mishaal bin Majid, governor of Jeddah, to shut down unlicensed factories and plants located in residential areas.

The move came after the commercial regulator within the mayoralty tried, and failed, to close down a well-known factory inside a residential area in southern Jeddah because its production lines operate around the clock.

The source said that regulatory action is made more difficult because closing down the facility would damage large quantities of production material. However, inspectors discovered that several industrial permits for the factory do not specify the location of the operation. The permit was issued only for a two-story residential building.

The report said that several warehouses do not have regulatory permits, in addition to discovering many violations of storage and health requirements. There was also found to be an auto-maintenance workshop for company vehicles on the premises that was operating without a valid permit.

The document said that action was taken against the offending factory, which included the shutdown of unlicensed warehouses, as well as the auto workshop.

Authorities fined owners SR129,000 for the violations. The proprietors were forced to agree to a given time frame in which to evacuate the premises and move to the industrial area. According to the document, of which Al-Eqtisadiyyah has a copy, several establishments are in violation of regulations by operating in residential areas.

One of the largest and most popular dairy and meat factories in the Kingdom, located in Jeddah, has been operating in a building within a residential area for the last 40 years.