The Ministry of Housing has approved SR6.03 billion in home loans to build 14,480 residential units across the country.

Housing Minister Shuwaish Al-Duwaihi ordered the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) to pay the money to the new applicants. This is the fifth tranche of loans approved this year.

“The REDF succeeded this year in reducing the waiting period for a loan to around 10 years in all regions in the Kingdom, from the more than 15 years in some regions,” Al-Duwaihi said. The citizens who had their loans approved in 2003 would be given the money this year.

Gen. Muhammad Al-Abdani, the REDF's director general, called on the latest beneficiaries to contact their nearest REDF office to complete the formalities.

The real estate loans are part of the government’s efforts to ease the acute housing shortage in the Kingdom. More than 2 million families are currently looking to own homes.

Arab News reported in August this year that the housing minister signed contracts worth SR4 billion to build around 40,000 homes in eight residential districts.

Al-Duwaihi had said that 26 million square meters of plots would be developed in Jeddah, Madinah, Dammam, Al-Ahsa, Qatif, Tabuk and Al-Kharj to house 250,000 people.