JEDDAH: Foras International Investment Company has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Housing in Mali to construct 60,000 residential units for people of limited income. The units will be built at a total cost of around $500 million and will be implemented in stages over six years.
The agreement was signed at the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) headquarters here by Salima Fafono, minister of housing in Mali and Hatim Mokhtar, chief executive of Foras in the presence of Ahmad Muhammad Ali, president of the IDB Group and Fawaz Abdulnour, director of investment operations, Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD).
Mokhtar disclosed that the project would be financed via self resources of Foras and the IDB Group, represented by ICD, which has expressed its interest to finance the project if it proves financially feasible. Mokhtar added that the period of implementation of the project would be over six years with 3,400 units to be constructed annually.
Foras CEO indicated that Foras will prepare the basic designs of the project in addition to getting the necessary permits in Mali. Then it will present the project to private sector companies for implementing the construction works. The Mali government will grant Foras the concession of building the residential units including the necessary facilities at the regulatory levels, and will exempt it from tax and custom duties, especially materials and equipment.
