Cairo: Saudi authorities in the city of Mecca, known as the Holy Capital, have drawn up a plan to develop slums there, a local newspaper has reported.
The targeted slums include the district of Al Naksa, a densely populated area crammed with informal housing inhabited by expatriates from different nationalities, Okaz added, citing unidentified sources.
“These neighbourhoods are included within a development plan on which the Holy Capital municipality has been working for a long time. Some phases of it have been already implemented,” the sources said.
The Royal Commission for Mecca has its own plans to develop slum areas, the sources added. “Developing parts of these districts have been agreed with a number of developers.”
The sources declined to disclose the names of other slum areas that will be removed and developed, or the actual ”The timetable for removal and development is planned in advance.”
Unlicenced dwellings have multiplied in Mecca over mountain slops inhabited by violators of the kingdom's residency and labour laws as well as undocumented migrants, the paper said.
Mecca is home to the Grand Mosque, which houses the Holy Kabba - Islam's holiest site.
