The UAE continued supporting housing projects for citizens with the same momentum during the first half of 2020 despite the challenges imposed by the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

 

This comes as part of the comprehensive national strategy adopted by the UAE for developing the housing sector, in a bid to serve citizens and maintain stability and prosperity.

 

The Follow-Up Committee of the Initiatives of the UAE President had in February announced the completion of the Dh1.9-billion ($517 million) Mohamed bin Zayed Residential City in Fujairah.

 

The project was launched to meet the needs of citizens, support the well-being and stability of Emirati families, and improve the quality of their lives, reported state news agency Wam.

 

The UAE leadership has placed the housing sector at the top of its priorities in order to achieve development across all emirates of the country to serve the citizens, the most important asset in the country’s progress, it stated.

 

The Mohamed bin Zayed Residential City was an iconic urban achievement in Fujairah’s housing sector and a modern city designed according to the highest standards of residential communities internationally.

 

The city was an extension of the package of vital projects across all regions of UAE and aimed to achieve family stability and social security for citizens through housing projects, roads and service facilities.

 

Spread over a sprawling 2.2 sq km area, the Mohamed bin Zayed Residential City will accommodate 1,100 residential villas equipped with advanced facilities, that wuill accommodate nearly 7,000 citizens. 

 

In time, it will include schools, mosques, parks and commercial stores in addition to a community cultural centre and a men's council, stated the report.

 

Located in the Al Hail area, 3 km south of Fujairah airport, Mohamed bin Zayed Residential City includes 20 public parks and plots of land designated for public services.

 

Also in these six months, the UAE leadership had approved disbursement of housing loans, houses and residential plots worth a total of Dh5.5 billion, granted to more than 5,500 Emirati nationals within Abu Dhabi.

 

This was followed by a directive from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to double the number of housing loans to UAE citizens falls within Abu Dhabi’s Development Accelerator Programme, ‘Ghadan 21’.

 

The leaders have ordered for the exemption of 429 retired citizens from the repayment of housing loans in Abu Dhabi, with a total value of AED444 million.

 

In Dubai, the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment pointed out that its total housing grants and loans amounted to Dh202 million in the first quarter, accounting for 300 approvals distributed over five housing services, including 212 house construction approvals, 14 prefabricated houses owned through its purchase loans, 21 prefabricated houses not owned through its purchase loans, 59 maintenance, addition or substitution loans, and four facilitated apartment rentals.

 

In Sharjah too, citizen housing projects are continuing momentum with the 4,400-housing unit set for completion by the end of 2021.

 

On a federal level, the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme is monitoring the implementation of many projects and programmes that aim to provide suitable housing for various segments of the community, by offering housing grants and loans for the construction, completion and maintenance of houses.

 

In January, the programme’s Board of Directors approved the applications of 503 eligible citizens worth Dh395 million. In May, the programme approved 500 applications worth Dh486 million, coinciding with Eid Al Fitr.

 

The programme plans to deliver 1,729 houses worth Dh2 billion by the fourth quarter, including 888 over three phases in in Ras Al Khaimah, 500 in Ajman, and 341 in in Dubai.-TradeArabia News Service