Minister Majed Al-Hogail answers a question during the forum.

Housing Minister Majed Al-Hogail has underscored the need for joint efforts between the government and private sector to solve the lack of housing facilities for citizens.

“The lack of housing units is due to various factors which have accumulated over the years. It requires collective effort to solve the problem,” he recently said during a forum.

Al-Hogail added that part of the solution depends on the changing trends in several segments of society with regard to quality, size and necessary requirements.

He said that the Housing Ministry will work in accordance with a housing applicant’s job to provide funding for land,” he said, adding that the ministry will do this with various stakeholders to provide services and change the attitudes of citizens regarding housing.

He added that one problem for the ministry is the lack of accurate information on the number of citizens in need of housing facilities.

“This problem is made worse by the inaccurate numbers on housing facilities from various government agencies,” he said.

Al-Hogail noted that the number of housing units built during the past 40 years in the Kingdom totaled 6 million.

“In five years, some 2.5 million housing units will be built. That will enable us to achieve the strategy of creating a balanced and sustainable housing environment,” he said.

He stressed the need for the formation of a group of housing owners if condominium buildings will be constructed in the Kingdom.

“Without these groups or associations, problems regarding collective ownership could crop up,” he said.

He noted that at present, there’s coordination among the ministries of housing, planning and social affairs to consolidate sources of support for low-income housing.

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