Saudi Arabia’s Endowments Committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce owes more than SR30 billion ($7.9 billion)  in reimbursements to owners of appropriated lands for expansion project in Makkah, according to a report.

The payments, which also includes SR1.8 billion for an endowment expropriated about seven years ago, are et to be made to the owners, said the Arab News report.

The delay has been attributed to complicated bureaucratic procedures, the lack of a clear system for the management of endowments, and the failure to purchase substitutes for expropriated endowments to benefit the public, Sharif Aladdin Shaker Al-Ghalib, the chairman of the committee, was quoted as saying.

These factors have caused the beneficiaries to lose income and lost opportunities to benefit from their investments, he said.

Meanwhile, Al-Ghalib has called for the development of special laws and regulations for endowments including the establishment of special endowment courts, said the report.

The committee has invited its members to an emergency meeting at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce to discuss the ongoing obstacles, it said.

“The committee will invite all civil endowments in Makkah to participate in the discussion for developing the endowments sector in Makkah,” said Al-Ghalib.

The committee will also work on creating a database of endowments through the office of an adviser in order to process all data and allow for easy communication between the authorities concerned, he added.