TheMinistry of Housing and Urban Planning held two workshops with heads andofficials of banks participating in the housing financing program and realestate development companies in the Kingdom, in order to discuss opportunitiesto enhance partnership between the government and private sectors to providehousing services to citizens, in the presence of Her Excellency Mrs. Amna bintAhmed Al Rumaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, and His ExcellencySheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of the Real Estate RegulatoryAuthority, and officials at the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Planning, the Urban Planning and Development Authority andthe Housing Bank.
Duringher participation in the workshops, Her Excellency Ms. Amna Al Rumaihi,Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, confirmed that the partnership programswith the private sector launched by the government in the previous phase contributedeffectively to providing thousands of housing services to citizens within ashort period of time, specifically since the launch of the housing financingprogram. This confirms the feasibility of the government’s visions regardingdeveloping policies and plans to achieve the principle of sustainability inproviding housing services to citizens.
Al-Rumaihistated that since the launch of the housing financing program in 2022, theministry has received more than 9,000 applications to benefit from“Facilitation” financing and “new category benefits,” and that 80% of thembelong to citizens wishing to transfer their housing applications fromtraditional services to financing options. The Ministry was able to respond tomore than 60% of these requests immediately, which achieves the goal of thisprogram.
The minister addedthat the participation of banks and commercial financial institutions in thehousing finance program has effectively contributed to accelerating the pace ofproviding housing services to citizens. This was achieved through the provisionof government-supported financing through the "Facilitation" financing and "New Category Benefits"programs, in addition to the banking facilities provided to citizens. She alsomentioned that the ministry's decision to bear the costs of real estateregistration fees for citizens benefiting from "Facilitation"financing through funded banks has contributed to achieving equality betweenthe financing options provided by banks and those provided by the Housing Bank.This provides citizens with a wider range of options to obtain housingfinancing from the entity that suits them, with the same advantages.
MinisterAmna Al-Rumaihi also addresses the remarkable progress in the Government Land DevelopmentRights program, especially after the distinguished launch of its first project,the “Suhail” housing project, which provides 132 housing units, and 93% of itsunits were implemented when it was offered to beneficiaries of financingservices, this encouraged the Ministry to expand the implementation of projectsin line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad AlKhalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to prepare a program for theimplementation of 8 additional projects through this program.
Sheadded that based on these directives, the Ministry recently concluded contractsfor the implementation of 131 new housing units in Salman City in partnershipwith Delmon Gate Real Estate Company. Additionally, new project tenders havebeen launched in the areas of Al-Bahirand Hoora Sanad as part of the program. She highlighted that this programcontributes to supporting the national economy by enhancing the positiveresults achieved in terms of real estate trading volume in the Kingdom, as aresult of providing thousands of housing services to citizens.
The Minister said that the next stage will witness a greater expansion in the implementation of government land development rights program projects, which constitutes ample opportunities for the private sector to participate in their implementation and provide residential units and apartments for citizens who will benefit from financing services, as the Ministry is keen to create diversity in housing options for citizens. In terms of area and type of housing, and its geographical location, in a way that suits their needs.
Forhis part, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of theReal Estate Regulatory Agency, praised the great efforts made by the Ministryof Housing and Urban Planning and the success of modern housing initiatives,most notably the “Suhail Housing” project, which received an impressiveresponse immediately after its launch.
HisExcellency stressed the importance of partnership between the public andprivate sectors as an effective step in providing housing opportunities forcitizens that contribute to achieving the desired economic visions andaspirations, praising the steps taken by the Ministry of Housing and UrbanPlanning in achieving this success, in addition to providing multiple financingoptions with competitive interest rates and flexible payment terms, which aimsto provide immediate housing units.
SheikhMohammed bin Khalifa added that the Real Estate Regulatory Authoritycontributes to enabling real estate development projects by promoting aflexible environment for advanced legislation and procedures that encourageinvestment in the sector. These efforts are reflected in the launch of more housingprojects. This comes in coordination with government agencies in providing thebest solutions for developing the real estate sector, and contribute tooffering housing opportunities.
In arelated context, Mr. Khalid Hamad Al-Hamad, Executive Director of BankingSupervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain, explained that the bank is alwayskeen to provide the appropriate banking environment to facilitate housingfinancing operations for citizens, through appropriate, supportive andencouraging regulatory regulations, with the aim of achieving sustainability offinancing sources and meeting the needs of citizens.
Al-Hamadadded that the bank is committed to continuing cooperation and consultationwith the ministry and banks to achieve the desired goals of the initiativessupporting social housing scheduled to be presented by the ministry.
