Demolition begins on 1011 dilapidated buildings in Jeddah's Al-Ruwaiss district
In a move aimed at enhancing public safety and improving the urban landscape, the Jeddah Municipality the on-site demolition of dilapidated buildings in the historic Al-Ruwaiss district. This intensive campaign targets 1,011 properties identified as structurally unsound, in an urgent effort to protect lives and property and eliminate visual pollution that threatens public safety and negatively impacts the city's urban environment.
Strict regulatory procedures before removal
The Secretariat clarified that the General Directorate of Emergency and Crisis Management had completed all necessary regulatory and legal procedures before deploying heavy machinery and equipment to the site. These procedures included notifying the owners of 1,011 buildings of the need for immediate evacuation and either voluntary remediation or demolition within the first phase of the specified deadline.
The concerned authorities confirmed that the demolition decisions were only issued after accurate technical reports from the Committee for Buildings in Danger of Collapse, and after the expiry of the legal time period granted to the owners, in order to ensure fairness in application and compliance with the applicable regulations, and out of concern that no party would be harmed, while prioritizing the public interest represented in protecting lives from the risk of sudden collapses.
Urban development context and Vision 2030
This move in the Al-Ruwaiss district is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a comprehensive strategy adopted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the framework of Vision 2030, specifically the Quality of Life Program. The Jeddah Municipality and relevant authorities are working to reshape the urban landscape of the coastal city, eliminating informal settlements and dilapidated buildings that are no longer habitable and place a burden on the infrastructure.
Al-Ruwaiss neighborhood is considered one of the old neighborhoods in Jeddah that has witnessed major urban changes over the decades, which has caused some of its old buildings to reach a stage of structural danger, which necessitated this firm government intervention to ensure a safe and sustainable residential environment.
Continued cleaning and treatment operations
This decisive step is the latest in a series of large-scale cleanup operations that previously included the Al-Faisaliyah, Al-Rabwah, and Al-Farouq neighborhoods. The municipality revealed the success of its earlier plans to remove 596 dilapidated buildings in these neighborhoods, thus eliminating the risks they posed to residents and passersby and paving the way for future development projects.
These actions fall under a comprehensive and continuous monitoring program that aims to survey all neighborhoods in the governorate to monitor and address dangerous urban hotspots before any disasters occur, God forbid, stressing that human safety is at the top of the municipal work priorities.
