Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The Jeddah Mayoralty announced, through its Twitter account, the dismantling of a building, known as ship building, on King Abdulaziz Road due to several violations and failure to fulfill the necessary statutory commitments.

Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learned from the mayoralty sources that the reason for the demolition was the failure on the part of its owner to complete the procedures to obtain the necessary permits for the building for a long time.

The owner had previously pledged to correct some of the requirements for the building, in addition to finding parking lots and operating the building after completion of safety related matters.

The building was about 18 years old and had only been in operation for a few months on an experimental basis in the initial period. The restaurant, owned by a well-known businessman, was planning to have multiple restaurants.

But, the businessman left the Kingdom several years ago following a lawsuit lodged against him and subsequently he was arrested. Later, he was released on bail and left the Kingdom, skipping bail, and is still wanted for trial.

The building was constructed to be an investment property but it had not proven to be successful.