Bahrain’s social housing initiatives lauded

Housing Minister Basim bin Yacoub Al-Hamer held a work meeting with the United Nations (UN) Regional Office Director for the Arab States Zena Ali Ahmed.

UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) director Katja Schaefer attended the session, which was held on the sidelines of the 2nd Arab Forum on housing and urban development in Rabat, Morocco. 
The minister stressed the importance of the document, recently signed with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to develop housing policies in Bahrain. Under the deal, specialised studies would be conducted to assess social housing in Bahrain and draw up ways of developing long-term sustainable housing policies. 
Al-Hamer said that the signing of the document was in line with the housing commitment stipulated in the Government Action Plan. ‘The Government of Bahrain, chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, seeks to adopt innovative and ambitious solutions to achieve sustainable housing services for citizens", he said. 
He underlined the ministry’s strenuous efforts over the past years to fast-track housing services and narrow the gap between demand and supply, launching Lawzi project, the first partnership scheme between the public and private sectors to construct more than 2500 units. 
The (UN) Regional Office Director for the Arab States officials commended Bahrain’s social housing policy, lauding the Government’s drive to launch innovative programmes and initiatives.