DAMMAM: The construction of additional floors on top of existing residential buildings has provided an extra 154,000 units, securing homes for 964,000 inhabitants in the Eastern Province. Provincial Mayor Engineer Daifallah Bin Ayish Al-Ottaibi said this was the positive result of a decision taken by Prince Mansour Bin Mit'eb Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, to allow for this type of construction. The extra units are only allowed if they do not exceed 50 percent of the area of the last story of the building. Al-Ottaibi said this decision will bring down current real estate prices, including rents. It will restore the market to old price levels, he added. Engineer Shoja Bin Yahyia Al-Mosleh, Deputy Mayor of the Eastern Province and Supervisor General of the General Administration for Urban Planning, said construction has to conform to certain criteria. The additional floor is only allowed for owners who have a license to build one or two additional residential units. It is also mandatory that these additional units should not project over the front of the building, and not be more than 3.5 meters in height.
