Compensation for acquired Makkah land nears SR20bn

The real estate evaluation committee has completed the evaluation of about 50 percent of the land to be acquired for the construction of the first ring road, the transport stations and the power plants to built within the project of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the Expansion of the Grand Mosque, a press report said on Friday.The committee comprises representatives from the governorate, the municipality, the Ministry of Finance and a number of realtors.Al-Watan daily quoted Assistant Undersecretary of the Makkah Municipality for Projects and Construction Abbas Al-Qattan, who is the chairman of the committee for the expansion of the northern plazas of the Haram, as saying that the preliminary estimations of the prices of the plots to be acquired amounted to about SR20 billion. This is based on the assessments made by the committee a year ago.“The funds have already been allocated. Payments will start as soon as procedures are completed,” he said. Al-Qattan said three power stations would be made — the first will be in Al-Tayseer district behind the building of the Ministry of Water and Electricity which is the largest, the second in Jabal Al-Kaaba near the new pedestrians' tunnel and the third on Al-Hijoon Road behind Badr Bakeries.He said the location of the fourth electricity station in Al-Masfalah District is to be changed. “Search is continuing now to find a new location,” he added. Al-Qattan said the committee would start this week the evaluation of the remaining land and will begin work from Al-Ghazzah District to Jabal Al-Kaaba passing through Talaat Al-Falaw-Jabal Hindi area.He said the first ring road project will cover the establishment of three transport stations and would require the confiscation of a number of plots and real estate units.