Many landowners in Madinah’s Al-Shuhadah neighborhood have refrained from selling land or properties that may fall within the perimeter of the expansion project of the Prophet’s Mosque.

With the cost of the expansion projects of the two holy mosques set at an estimated SR70 billion, landowners believe that there will be huge returns on their properties and have held off on making sales.

The buzzword in Madinah is now the new expansion project of the Prophet’s Mosque. It is a hot topic at meetings, gatherings and offices and on social media networks. Print and electronic media are estimating the cost of the expansion project while others are calculating the time needed for its completion. But there is nothing official yet.

Around 14,300 properties are expected to be demolished, of which 1,470 are within the boundaries of the mosque. In addition, around 310 hotels, 175 mosques and 106 schools are expected to be leveled.

The properties are in huge demand but the landlords, eying higher profits, have refrained from making any sales at all, while the number of inquiries about the value of compensations to be paid for the demolished properties has soared.