29 April 2013
A new industrial city in Asfan in North Jeddah is to accommodate relocated workshops from Jeddah, especially those next to King Abdul Aziz International Airport.
The land, which is jointly owned by the municipality and the industrial property authority, measures 10 million sq. meters and will also accommodate manufacturing industries.
But having industrial and manufacturing workshops side-by-side is being opposed by investors, said Khalaf Al-Otaibi, a member of the Industrial Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He explained that workshop areas contain high levels of pollution and that food and beverage manufacturers cannot be located in the same area as car repairers.
Earlier this year, Prince Fahad bin Abdullah, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, said there are joint efforts by his administration and the Jeddah municipality to quickly remove workshops located next to the airport.
Turki Al-Harthi, the Civil Defense director in Jeddah, said that random workshops and car-repair shops next to the airport are his department's biggest nuisance, a local newspaper reported. "They are difficult to control, especially in case of fire," he said.
Al-Harthi said his department and the municipality decided to relocate all the random workshops in Jeddah outside the city. They will be categorized according to activity.
The Jeddah municipality announced in 2012 that it won't renew licenses for the workshops in order to relocate them north of the city but eventually gave them a grace period of one year. Workshop owners have complained that the relocation is too far from the city.
A new industrial city in Asfan in North Jeddah is to accommodate relocated workshops from Jeddah, especially those next to King Abdul Aziz International Airport.
The land, which is jointly owned by the municipality and the industrial property authority, measures 10 million sq. meters and will also accommodate manufacturing industries.
But having industrial and manufacturing workshops side-by-side is being opposed by investors, said Khalaf Al-Otaibi, a member of the Industrial Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He explained that workshop areas contain high levels of pollution and that food and beverage manufacturers cannot be located in the same area as car repairers.
Earlier this year, Prince Fahad bin Abdullah, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, said there are joint efforts by his administration and the Jeddah municipality to quickly remove workshops located next to the airport.
Turki Al-Harthi, the Civil Defense director in Jeddah, said that random workshops and car-repair shops next to the airport are his department's biggest nuisance, a local newspaper reported. "They are difficult to control, especially in case of fire," he said.
Al-Harthi said his department and the municipality decided to relocate all the random workshops in Jeddah outside the city. They will be categorized according to activity.
The Jeddah municipality announced in 2012 that it won't renew licenses for the workshops in order to relocate them north of the city but eventually gave them a grace period of one year. Workshop owners have complained that the relocation is too far from the city.
© Arab News 2013
