A number of Jeddah residents have criticized the Ministry of Housing due for their slow pace in implementing projects in the province. They also criticised the ministry for not handing projects over to contractors within the specified timeline.

The citizens cited a previous announcement by the ministry which claimed that it has already started delivering urgent housing products to citizens in some regions, and that it will soon hand over the housing units to beneficiaries, within 12 months at the most.

They referred to a statement made by Deputy Minister of Housing Abdulaziz Al-Ammar which was published earlier in a local publication, in which this strict timeline was announced.

According to them, the statement came following a meeting that Al-Ammar held to discuss the construction projects in Jeddah with the director of the Housing Ministry Branch and a number of contractors. The meeting supposedly discussed the full details of the project, and the time schedule to hand over the housing units to beneficiaries.

The value of the contracts of the north and south projects are worth SR75,003,560, with a total contracting value worth SR480,466,305. The area of the project amounts to 5,697,660 square meters, containing 10,630 housing units to accommodate a population of 58,358.

Residents in the area also demanded that the authorities find a radical solution for the congestion of traffic problem in view of the expected increase in the population once the project is completed.

Notably, despite the delays in implementation, the allocated area for parks, playgrounds and entertainment centers within the project amounts to 77,805 square meters.

The project includes developed lands to establish health centers, a civil service station, police center, post office and a public library at a later date.

The estimated value of the project stands at SR350 million with a time schedule of two years for its total completion.