Contact The Al-Baha Region Secretariat represented by the Housing Affairs Agency, continues its efforts in urban development and humanization, improving services, and providing housing and financing solutions for the most needy families, increasing private sector participation, engaging for-profit organizations, and creating sustainable job opportunities.
The Deputy Secretary of Al-Baha Region for Housing Affairs, Engineer Hamid Saeed Al-Amri, explained in a statement to “SPA” that 11 infrastructure projects have been implemented in Al-Baha Region over the past four years, comprising approximately 4,000 housing units, noting that the developments were improved through road paving, land leveling, rainwater drainage, and the provision of electricity to the residential developments, in addition to the availability of a profit-subsidized housing finance program by the Real Estate Development Fund in partnership with financing entities, so that beneficiaries can build on the land reserved for them.
He reported that the first two developmental housing projects in the region are currently under construction, consisting of 416 housing units to serve the most needy families, which will be delivered to eligible recipients during the year 2025.
Engineer Al-Amri emphasized that one of the objectives of Housing Program is to strengthen the capabilities of small and medium-sized real estate development companies in order to increase the supply of housing units, as the number of qualified real estate developers in the region has exceeded approximately 30, The Secretariat also seeks to provide numerous high-quality residential units at competitive prices through the establishment of cooperative societies.
He noted that the Al-Baha Housing Cooperative Society was established and accredited as a real estate developer, and the association was granted a plot of land measuring 18,000 m² by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing to implement a real estate project consisting of 68 residential units in the city of Al-Baha. The association is also currently working on another real estate project in Baljurashi Governorate consisting of 48 residential units.
As part of efforts to increase the non-profit sector’s contribution to 51% of GDP by 2030 under the Developmental Housing Program, the Deputy Secretary-General of Al-Baha Municipality for Housing Affairs stated ”Three non-profit associations specializing in developmental housing have been established in the Al-Baha region, namely the ”Al-Baha Association for Developmental Housing,” which aims to build, maintain, and operate housing units and has an agreement to provide 700 housing units between the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, the National Housing Foundation, and the Al-Baha Association for Developmental Housing, as well as launching an initiative to provide 99 housing units for beneficiaries of developmental housing; and the second association ”Omran and Development Association,” which aims to renovate the homes of the most needy families and has begun implementing five renovation projects, and has programs related to raising awareness about sustainable construction and a program to adapt homes for people with special needs and disabilities.
He noted that the third association “Maskanhum Association” serves beneficiaries in the Tihama region, aiming to build and maintain housing units and manage residential complexes. It is a nascent association in the founding stage, building capacity through incubation programs in partnership with specialized civil society organizations.
Engineer Al-Amri reported that 24 emergency agreements have been signed with civil associations in all centers and governorates of the Al-Baha region with the aim of providing housing services to the most needy families, The associations also benefit from the services of the Developmental Housing to register beneficiaries, assess their cases, and submit applications on various national platforms to provide them with housing services.
He noted that the Regional Secretariat has sought to attract housing-specialized associations from outside the region to benefit from their expertise in project management and to establish partnerships with local associations, including the Ma’wa Association for Social Services, where two initiatives were implemented: the first was the construction and ownership of 36 housing units on Ministry-owned land in partnership between the Ma’wa Association and the Al-Bir Association in Baljurashi, and the second was the construction of 19 housing units in Al-Hajrah Governorate in partnership between the Ma’wa Association and the Al-Bir Association in Al-Hajrah.
Regarding the participation of the Al-Baha Region Secretariat in the ”Jood Al-Iskan” platform, the Deputy Secretary of the Al-Baha Region for Housing Affairs said: The Secretariat achieved remarkable results in the campaign during the blessed month of Ramadan, raising 24 million riyals to cover approximately 143 housing units, which will be allocated to serve beneficiaries in the region.
It is worth noting that during his recent visit to the region, His Excellency the Minister of Municipalities and Housing witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding between a number of institutions and civil society organizations; including a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, the Civil Housing Foundation, and the Al-Baha Housing Association, in addition to two memoranda of cooperation, and inspected a number of housing projects in the region.
