The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning held two workshops with heads and officials of banks participating in the housing financing program and real estate development companies in the Kingdom, in order to discuss opportunities to enhance partnership between the government and private sectors to provide housing services to citizens, in the presence of Her Excellency Mrs. Amna bint Ahmed Al Rumaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, and His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, and officials at the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, the Urban Planning and Development Authority and the Housing Bank.
During her participation in the workshops, Her Excellency Ms. Amna Al Rumaihi, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, confirmed that the partnership programs with the private sector launched by the government in the previous phase contributed effectively to providing thousands of housing services to citizens within a short period of time, specifically since the launch of the housing financing program. This confirms the feasibility of the government’s visions regarding developing policies and plans to achieve the principle of sustainability in providing housing services to citizens.
Al-Rumaihi stated that since the launch of the housing financing program in 2022, the ministry has received more than 9,000 applications to benefit from “Facilitation” financing and “new category benefits,” and that 80% of them belong to citizens wishing to transfer their housing applications from traditional services to financing options. The Ministry was able to respond to more than 60% of these requests immediately, which achieves the goal of this program.
The minister added that the participation of banks and commercial financial institutions in the housing finance program has effectively contributed to accelerating the pace of providing housing services to citizens. This was achieved through the provision of government-supported financing through the "Facilitation" financing and "New Category Benefits" programs, in addition to the banking facilities provided to citizens. She also mentioned that the ministry's decision to bear the costs of real estate registration fees for citizens benefiting from "Facilitation" financing through funded banks has contributed to achieving equality between the financing options provided by banks and those provided by the Housing Bank. This provides citizens with a wider range of options to obtain housing financing from the entity that suits them, with the same advantages.
Minister Amna Al-Rumaihi also addresses the remarkable progress in the Government Land Development Rights program, especially after the distinguished launch of its first project, the “Suhail” housing project, which provides 132 housing units, and 93% of its units were implemented when it was offered to beneficiaries of financing services, this encouraged the Ministry to expand the implementation of projects in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to prepare a program for the implementation of 8 additional projects through this program.
She added that based on these directives, the Ministry recently concluded contracts for the implementation of 131 new housing units in Salman City in partnership with Delmon Gate Real Estate Company. Additionally, new project tenders have been launched in the areas of Al-Bahir and Hoora Sanad as part of the program. She highlighted that this program contributes to supporting the national economy by enhancing the positive results achieved in terms of real estate trading volume in the Kingdom, as a result 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.
For his part, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, praised the great efforts made by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and the success of modern housing initiatives, most notably the “Suhail Housing” project, which received an impressive response immediately after its launch.
His Excellency stressed the importance of partnership between the public and private sectors as an effective step in providing housing opportunities for citizens that contribute to achieving the desired economic visions and aspirations, praising the steps taken by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning in achieving this success, in addition to providing multiple financing options with competitive interest rates and flexible payment terms, which aims to provide immediate housing units.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa added that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority contributes to enabling real estate development projects by promoting a flexible environment for advanced legislation and procedures that encourage investment in the sector. These efforts are reflected in the launch of more housing projects. This comes in coordination with government agencies in providing the best solutions for developing the real estate sector, and contribute to offering housing opportunities.
In a related context, Mr. Khalid Hamad Al-Hamad, Executive Director of Banking Supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain, explained that the bank is always keen to provide the appropriate banking environment to facilitate housing financing operations for citizens, through appropriate, supportive and encouraging regulatory regulations, with the aim of achieving sustainability of financing sources and meeting the needs of citizens.
Al-Hamad added that the bank is committed to continuing cooperation and consultation with the ministry and banks to achieve the desired goals of the initiatives supporting social housing scheduled to be presented by the ministry.
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