The Ministry of Housing has continued its significant efforts to provide more housing units to resolve the housing crisis,with reports indicating that a delegation from the Ministry of Housing held a meeting with a delegation from the People’s Republic of China comprising a number of major companies, including high-level developers and planners, during which they discussed the best ways to partner on the construction of housing units in various regions of the Kingdom.
Saudi-Chinese Cooperation
A delegation from the Ministry of Housing held a meeting with a delegation from the People’s Republic of China comprising a number of major companies, including high-level developers and planners, led by Liu Keyi, Vice Governor of Liu Keyi, during their visit to the site of Al-Asfar City in the Al-Ahsa region, which the Ministry of Housing is overseeing the development of, in preparation for finalizing the design procedures.
Meanwhile, Al-Ahsa Mayor Engineer Adel bin Muhammad Al-Melhem revealed that the Al-Asfar City site (northeast of Al-Waha, on the outer ring road) is expected to provide more than 50,000 housing units for citizens, accommodating 150,000 residents.
He explained that the municipality was keen to allocate the Al-Asfar City site, which covers an area of 55 million square meters, to the Ministry of Housing as part of eight sites—totaling an estimated 150 million square meters—that were designated and handed over to the ministry across Al-Ahsa.
Joint Government Cooperation
For his part, Abdulrahman Al-Abdulqader, an advisor to the Ministry of Housing, explained that the Ministry is in constant cooperation and ongoing coordination with the Al-Ahsa Municipality regarding Al-Asfar City, given the importance of the location and the Ministry’s recognition of the need to provide housing for citizens.
It is worth noting that among the most important sites and activities surrounding Al-Asfar City are Al-Ahsa National Park, the "King Abdullah City of Dates" food city, Al-Ahsa Central Market, date processing plants, and the proposed recreational and tourism projects east of the outer ring road—including the proposed Al-Ahsa sports stadium—as well as regional educational and health projects and land allocated for Saudi Aramco housing.
For his part, Dr. Bandar Al-Abdulkarim, spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, revealed that the number of homeowners" associations approved on the Ministry’s website since its launch totals five, and that the number of eligible recipients of housing support in the Makkah region—among those who submitted their applications through the "Iskan« portal and met the eligibility criteria—reached 216,200 men, and 7,734 women, for a total of 223,934.
Number of Housing Units
Of the 100,000 housing units in the Makkah region previously announced by the Ministry, 7,246 housing units will be delivered shortly, with 4,122 units allocated for the purchase of apartments in the Jeddah Airport project, 2,594 residential units in the Prince Fawaz project in Jeddah, and 530 villas in Al-Qunfudhah Governorate. Regarding the requirement for licensed real estate agencies to register their residential units, Al-Abdulkarim said: "The Ministry will begin registering real estate brokers, and this will coincide with the announcement of the necessary requirements for registering and qualifying real estate brokers on the electronic platform; the system will then be launched on a pilot basis during the first quarter of next year, 2017.
The Korean Experience
It should be noted that His Excellency the Minister of Housing, Mr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, recently signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, between the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Infrastructure of South Korea. This memorandum was issued based on the approval granted by the Council of Ministers pursuant to Royal Decree No. 24121 dated 16/5/ 1437 AH, which was issued in accordance with the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and His Royal Highness the Deputy Crown Prince—may God protect and preserve them — to accelerate the housing sector by drawing on international experiences in how to produce a large number of housing units in a relatively short time, as well as to support the Ministry of Housing with financial resources that will help it become self-financing and reduce its reliance on government subsidies.. The Korean experience has attracted the attention of many observers of the housing sector, as it has provided practical solutions that have helped encourage the private sector to take charge of housing and attract diverse investments to this sector, thereby freeing the Ministry to focus on enacting laws and regulations for the sector..
The memorandum of understanding covered all aspects of the housing industry, most notably the exchange of expertise on rapid construction methods that help deliver attractive housing products in record time, as well as mechanisms to encourage investment in the housing sector, The MoU also included organizing joint workshops and exchange visits between specialists from both countries, as well as holding conferences and seminars that will help the Ministry of Housing—God willing—achieve a qualitative leap in providing housing products befitting Saudi citizens and their aspirations.One of the first fruits of the cooperation agreement between the two countries was the signing of another memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Housing and a Saudi-Korean consortium to develop 100,000 housing units over the next ten years in northern Riyadh. The consortium consists of three companies: two Korean companies—Daewoo and Hanwha—and a third Saudi company, Across the Kingdom Sebak
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