RIYADH – In the largest-ever government supported housing scheme, Minister of Housing Dr. Shuwaish Al-Dhuwaihi signed here on Sunday eight contracts worth SR4 billion to build 40,000 housing units in seven cities in the Kingdom. “We should thank Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for supporting us in carrying out these huge projects,” he said at a press conference following the signing of the contracts. The projects are in implementation of the King's directive to make available for citizens developed plots of land and adequate loans to build exemplary housing units, the minister said. Some 26 million sqm of land will be developed to accommodate quarter a million citizens, he explained. As part of the contracts projects will be carried out in Jeddah, Madinah, Dammam, Al-Ahsa, Qatif, Tabuk and Al-Kharj. Each project will include electricity and water networks, lighting, sewerage, rain drainage, communication network in addition to roads, public parks, mosques, healthcare and educational facilities, police posts, post offices and commercials centers. Each project has a different time limit for completion, but in general these are slated to be finished between 18 and 24 months from now, the minister announced. “In the coming few days we will be discussing with major players in real estate development and finance in the Kingdom the cooperation draft framework so that more opportunities will be opened up for them to participate actively in the ambitious government housing projects for citizens,” Al-Dhuwaihi said. There are currently 49 other projects being carried out by the ministry. A SR927.8 million contract was recently signed by the ministry to develop infrastructure for seven housing projects in the cities of Jizan and Najran. Each of the projects includes electricity and water networks, sewage water treatment plants, as well as the development of roads, green spaces and parks. In a separate move, the Ministry of Housing announced that it has finalized a new online registration system to keep track of properties in the private rental sector, reported the Construction Week Online website. The new electronic platform is similar to the rental-services function of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) in Dubai. A similar initiative in Saudi Arabia aims to offer more protection and visibility for tenants and investors in the Saudi real estate market, Construction Week reported.
