1000 houses in Al Hidd

The Housing Ministry has kick-started the construction of around 1,000 housing units in the east of AlHidd city, it has emerged. As per the plan, a ministry source told Tribune, 987 flats will be constructed in the east of Al Hidd City. When asked about the allocation criteria, the official explained that 246 flats will be constructed in east of AlHidd 8, 159 flats in east of AlHidd 9, (177) flats in east of Al-Hidd 10, 291 flats in east of Al-Hidd 12, and 114 flats in east of Al-Hidd 13 by 2030.

Bassem Al Hamer, the Minister of Housing, earlier said that the ministry will start distributing 487 housing units as directed by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister. HRH the Crown Prince has directed to distribute 5,000 housing units to beneficiaries during a government meeting held on 2018 in line with HM King Hamad’s directive to deliver 40,000 housing units across Bahrain. The instruction follows previous orders which led to the successful allocation of over 15,000 homes across different parts of Bahrain and comes after the recent inauguration of Salman Town, one of the Kingdom’s largest housing projects comprising 15,000 housing units.

The move, the minister said, falls in line with the state vision for 2030 and follows the directive of Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. “The distribution will continue until mid next week to handle beneficiaries in an arranged manner,” the Minister said. According to reports, Bahrain’s affordable housing waiting list currently is for 60,000 units, which, however, is much better when compared to the waiting list in Kuwait with 100,000 on it. This according to an earlier statistics released on housing at the Gateway Gulf investment forum in Bahrain might differ around GCC due to various factors.

The seminar pointed that in Bahrain, an affordable rent per month, for a mid-income household, is between 780 and 1179 Bahraini dinars ($2069 and $3127) while in Saudi Arabia, an affordable rent is between 480 and 1620 Saudi riyals ($127 and $431), which throws up the need for “diversified housing solutions. Also speaking at the forum, Bahrain’s Housing Minister said he had one goal in office. “For me, it’s very simple — to increase and fast-track the delivery of housing units,” he said.

For this, Bahrain has devised various programmes which include Mazaya programme— a social housing scheme in collaboration with the private sector in which eligible applicants can receive subsidized loans from banks to purchase houses with a maximum price of 120,000 Bahraini dinars, according to a report. Some of the ongoing projects in the capital city include Sanad (265 Houses), Jufair (60 flats), Sitra 3 (754), Tubli-houses (246 houses) and Umm Al Hassam (18). In Muharraq, Busaiteen Aref project includes 35 houses.

Al Ramli in Northern governorate has 3700 units. Project in Southern governorate includes Horat Sanad (315 houses), Hunaineya (293 houses), Bar Al Dur (862 Houses/ 192 flat), Buhair (700), Ryade Asker (423) and Alhajiate (houses-142, flats 160).