KSA Housing Strategy In The Offing

The Ministry of Housing has decided to draw a comprehensive national housing strategy to meet the emerging need for housing in the Kingdom.

The ministry has received more than 340 suggestions thus far on the proposed strategy from ministries like the Ministry of Municipal & Rural Affairs.

“We are going through the suggestions and opinions which have been received from the ministries and will take appropriate steps to draft and implement a housing strategy,” the ministry’s spokesman told Al-Watan daily. “The full-fledged strategy is expected to meet the needs of the people all across the country.”

The ministry had contacted many experts in the field before setting out on their housing strategy and sent the first draft to the related ministries. The ministries discussed the draft thoroughly and sent it back with their suggestions.

Both the strategy and its suggestions dealt with many issues including the increase in the number of applicants, bank loans and real estate fund loans, the problems facing people who want to own their houses, price hikes and the role of the private sector.

According to officials at the ministry, the ministry wants to ensure that all Saudis own houses. It also intends to actively participate in the rising real estate and housing sectors.

The ministry wants to cut down the pressure on housing in metropolitan cities by adopting suitable construction policies. According to a report, one third of the total Saudi population resides in the three main cities of Riyadh, Makkah and the Eastern Province.

Arab News