With the wide participation of Amlak Real Estate Newspaper, the Makkah Chamber of Commerce organized an introductory meeting about the White Fees program to clarify and explain the procedures and address the inquiries that many landowners have. Engineer Mohammed Al-Mudaiheem, the General Supervisor of the White Fees Program at the Ministry of Housing, spoke at the meeting, which was attended by a large number of Makkah Chamber leaders, headed by Mr. Ibrahim Fouad Bardisi, Secretary General of the Makkah Chamber, Dr. Adel Al-Fassi, the former Director General of the High Authority for the Development of Makkah, and some ministry officials and businessmen. Amlak Real Estate Newspaper’s participation in covering this meeting and workshop comes within its media responsibility to cover all real estate and housing forums and events as a professional duty and a strategic approach adopted by the newspaper to be the media arm of businessmen and enlighten them about what is happening within the scope of their work and interests.
Explanation of fee payment mechanisms
During the meeting, Engineer Al-Mudaiheem provided a detailed explanation of the status of undeveloped land in Makkah, and addressed the mechanisms for paying fees through all stages of the system. Engineer Al-Mudaiheem stressed the need for those responsible to adhere to the program's regulations. He reassured landowners that the land valuation mechanism is conducted in a carefully considered manner, taking into account several aspects of the evaluation, such as services and infrastructure, which makes the evaluation fair and not burdensome for the owners. At the end of the meeting, questions and inquiries from the attendees were answered.
White land area in Makkah
The Ministry had recently announced the geographical scope targeted for the application of the first phase of the White Land Fees System in the city of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and the Ministry called on landowners located within the targeted geographical scope to register their lands and support them with documents and data through the website (Lands.Housing.sa) within a period not exceeding 6 months ending on 4/11/1438.
The Ministry of Housing explained that this phase includes undeveloped lands designated for residential or residential-commercial use with an area of 10,000 square meters or more, located within the geographical area of 324 million square meters, defined by the Fourth Ring Road and Al-Hajj Street to the north, Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Road and the Fourth Ring Road to the east, reaching Al-Ibrahim Al-Khalil Road to the west, and the Fifth Ring Road to the south.
Three stages for implementing the system
The Council of Ministers, chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, approved the executive regulations for the White Land Fees System. A key feature of these regulations is that white land is defined as any vacant land designated for residential or mixed-use (residential and commercial) purposes within the urban boundaries. The application of the fees to lands subject to the system and its regulations will be implemented in the following phases: Phase One: Undeveloped land with an area of 10,000 square meters or more located within the area designated by the Ministry. Phase Two: Developed land belonging to a single owner within a single approved development plan, provided its total area exceeds 10,000 square meters. Phase Three: Developed land belonging to a single owner within a single approved development plan, provided its total area exceeds 5,000 square meters. Phase Four: Developed land belonging to a single owner within a single city, provided its total area exceeds 10,000 square meters. The Ministry of Housing will be responsible for collecting the prescribed fees and any fines resulting from violations of the system or its regulations, and will take the necessary measures to prevent evasion of these fees and fines.
