Cities and villages project attracts huge interest: official

TDT | Manama

The Cities and Villages Development Project, meant for improving the living standards of low-income families in the Kingdom, is moving on attracting huge interest, said a top municipal services official. Shawqia Humaidan, the Assistant Undersecretary for Joint Municipal Services, said the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning is exerting all its capabilities to implement the project in a desirable way.

423 houses completed Around 67 of the projects accepted by the ministry for restoration between 2019 and mid2020 were completed in 2019 and 78 this year. In total, the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning has completed the renovation of more than 423 houses within the Cities and Villages Development Project in cooperation with various municipal councils during the period.

“Work is also currently underway to restore 44 homes within the project,” Humaidan said. On the Rain Coatings Project, the ministry announced completing the works of 145 projects in 2019 and 132 in the first half of 2020, in all governorates. The Cities and Villages Development Project was launched in Bahrain in 2006 to improve the living standards of low-income families in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The criteria for the Rain Coatings Project are the same as those for the restoration project. Application criteria Ministry said it accepts a project for restoration, if an applicant owns the dwelling in whole, partially, and is residing there for more than 10 years. CPR and address of the applicant must be identical, and the applicant should have the consent of all owners in case of multiple owners.

The approved cost of maintenance and restoration per house under the project should not exceed a maximum of 10,000 dinars. The project allows families to add facilities to suit their needs, within an area not exceeding 60 square meters. Request for ‘Home Waterproof Project’ also fall within the purview of the restoration project.

Ceiling raised to BD800 Humaidan also confirmed that the ceiling of the total income of the beneficiaries in case of fire (emergency cases) was raised to 800 dinars from the 600 dinars earlier, following the Capital Municipality and municipal councils.

On the approval process, Humaidan said the requests submitted online by the municipal councils and the Capital Municipality Council are then reviewed and audited by the Urban Development Department. “If the department confirms that a request fulfils all necessary criteria, it will be accepted, and a tender is issued.”