JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal has ordered the removal of hundreds of coffee shops and car workshops from the Al-Nuzha area in Jeddah to make way for a new development matching the upgrade taking place at the city’s airport.

The decision has raised the ire of some businessmen because they have to transfer to Usfan, 30 km to the north of the governorate. However, the decision is currently being implemented by several bodies including the police, municipality, National Water Company, Saudi Electricity Company and Civil Defense.

A source was quoted as saying by a local publication that the municipality’s role is to close stores, while the other government agencies are responsible for cutting off water and electricity supply.

The source said that the shop owners had been give prior warning that they would have to move by June. Some owners have already started moving operations, the source was quoted as saying.

He said the shops would make way for a new, more attractive development near the upgraded airport, which would open in a few months. Seven hundred and nine workshops and 32 coffee shops have been closed, with electricity and water supply cut off.

Nine stores have been warned to move, while the signboards of 44 others have been removed.