The Ministry of Housing will exclude citizens with annual earnings exceeding SR150,000 from the 500,000 housing units’ program. This move comes in light of the fact that employees in this category can avail themselves of various real estate development fund programs and normal bank loans.
According to a local newspaper, the ministry intends to exclude some employees, including those working for Saudi Aramco and SABIC from the housing programs, because their companies provide them with the various housing benefits. However, there are many employees in ministries, government agencies and other private institutions who are still eligible to take advantage of the ministry’s funding programs.
Tala Samarqandi, a member of the Real Estate Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), however, argued that the ministry was obliged to extend housing loans to all citizens regardless of their salaries. All Saudis are entitled to take advantage of government housing programs.
“The Ministry of Housing must rearrange the housing loans to ensure that those who deserve the most receive the assistance first. There are many Saudis facing financial difficulties and others who are unable to pay the high rental costs of housing units in the country. The ministry should rework its priorities and ensure all categories of Saudi society benefit from the housing program,” he told Arab News.
Meanwhile, Housing Minister Shweish Al-Dowaihi said that the coming days would witness new contracts signed for large housing projects and integrated services in some regions of the Kingdom.
Al-Dowaihi made the statements during a press conference on Sunday after signing eight contracts worth SR4 billion for new housing projects in a number of Saudi cities. There are also others projects in the pipeline for some regions of the Kingdom, and they will up for bidding in the near future. These projects will be in Asir, Najran, Baha, Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Al-Jouf, Northern borders and Tabuk.
The minister said that the new projects would focus on infrastructures, taking into consideration urban requirements including integrated mosques, educational services, health centers and security.
High earners to be denied housing loans
