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5 1 This was countered in 1986 when the Council of Ministers adopted the Urban Domain (No. 13,
9/1/1406 H. (1986)) to put growth under check.
52 By 1985, in addition to the REDF-related units of 287,000,333,406 were produced by the various
government ministries. Ministry of Information, Domestic Information, Wathaiek littariekh,
Mukhtarat min Kalimat wa Liqaat Jalalat al Malik Fahad bin Abdul-Aziz (Documents for History:
Selective Quotes From King Fahad Speeches and Meetings), (Riyadh: Al-Malek Publishing House, no
date of publication), 257.
Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Real Estate Development
Fund: Annual Report. 1987/1988. In addition, by 1985, the total number of residential units reached
777,704 nationwide, 403,852 apartment units and 33,852 single houses by the Ministry of Public
Works and Housing, 287,000 by the REDF, 33,000 by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu,
and 50,000 by other government agencies. King Fahad Al Saud, "Public Speech Addressing the Saudi
Students in the US", Washington D.C. , 11/23/1404H, In Documents For the History, Selective
Speeches by H.M. King Fahad Al Saud, Ministry of Public Information (Riyadh: Al Ibikan for
Publications, no date),.257.
54 For the 100,000 figure see A. A. Al Shalhoob 1991. "Riyadh Completes its Embellishment By Year
2000". An interview with Riyadh's Mayor Al Yamamah. January 2 1991. pp. 28-33. However, the
official magazine of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Al Baladiyat. March 1986, reported
that 36,000 lots occupying an area of 45 square km (out of a total city residential area of 92 square km)
were given at no cost to Saudi citizens. "Governmental Services and International Cooperative Offices
in Riyadh," Al Baladiyat. No 5, 2nd year, March 1986, p. 61. By 1985, the government has
distributed more than 2.5 million lots (at varying area) to citizens nationwide (Ministry of Information,
op. cit, p. 260).
55 High Commission For the Development of Airiyadh. Taqreer Nitaq Annmou Al-Omrani Le Madinat
Arriyadh, Amanat Madinat Arriadh [Report on Urban Domain For the City of Riyadh, Riyadh
Municipality] 1989, p. 101. Currently vacancy rates stands at 30%. This is due to several factors
including first, the REDF hefty loans and their lax requirements, the departure of large numbers of
expatriates who helped build the country during the construction boom, and the availability of
substantial substandard housing units in the mud communities (11,448 out of 93,045 comprising the
city's residential stock).
56 High Commission For The Development of Arriyadh. Program for the Development of Governing
Palace Area: Third Stage ,(1989), 6.
57 In the period 1968-1970 there were 60,000 vehicles. In 1987, there were over 4.4 million registered
vehicles in the Kingdom. The number of vehicles registered increased by over 148,000 in 1987, alone.
For Riyadh, the number of vehicles increased from 67,607 in 1971 to 773,795 in 1981. Source: M.
Mohammadain, "Traffic Accidents in the City of Riyadh" in Saudi Cities: Distribution and
Morphology (Riyadh: King Saud University Press, 1983): 335-377.
58 High Commission For The Development of Arriyadh. 1989. Program for the Development of
Governing Palace Area: Third Stage, p. 3. Also, at the compact central ring lives 850 people per
hectare, while only 10 inhabitants per hectar live at the shapeless periphery. The overall City's
districts average 45 inhabitants per hectare. Source: Report on Urban Domain for the City of Riyadh
(1989), 3.