RIYADH, 7 December 2006 — As part of the government’s plan to provide thousands of low-income citizens in the Kingdom with their own homes, the Ministry of Social Affairs said yesterday that it had began licensing the construction of the first phase of the National Housing Units Project. According to the ministry, the first phase includes the construction of 7,312 housing units all over the Kingdom.
“The minister gave authorization yesterday for construction companies to tender their offers for the construction of these units,” said Muhammad Al-Oqla, deputy minister for social insurance and housing units, at a press conference. “This authorization comes from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s keenness to speed up procedures so that families can receive their housing units,” he added.
According to the official, on April 2, 2006, King Abdullah approved the construction of 66,000 units to be built in various regions in the Kingdom. The total costs for all the units is estimated at SR10,000 million. The ministry said the number of housing units approved for construction this year is 16,000. The ministry said priority will be given to regions with the greatest need. It specified the regions according to priority as Jizan, Najran, the Northern Region, Al-Jouf, Makkah Region and the Eastern Province. Construction companies will be licensed to prepare the land for housing construction.
Asked how the ministry would decide those in need of the housing units, Al-Oqla said that a team composed of 13 officials from the Ministry of Social Affairs, governorates, and charitable societies would set the conditions for applying and determine those who are in greatest need. “The governor of each region will be responsible for choosing the areas where the housing units will be built according to the needs in the region,” he said. He also said that the ministry would cooperate with charitable housing societies in various regions to determine those who are eligible for the units.
He explained that after the first phase had been completed, the ministry would announce how applications for ownership would be handled. “These units and the concept behind constructing them is to have all public services provided for the welfare of citizens, as directed by custodian of the two holy mosques. There will be no wasta (pulling strings or using influence) when applying for ownership of these units,” he pointed out.
According to the ministry, citizens who are under the Kingdom’s social insurance scheme will also be entitled to apply for ownership of the housing units. The official also pointed out that the ministry had learned from the experience of other countries in similar situations.
