Developers urge solution to housing crisis

March 3, 2013

Developers

Jeddah, Mar 3: Top private sector developers yesterday at Cityscape Jeddah called on the government to work with them to streamline several processes that cause delays, making it nearly impossible to develop affordable housing projects to solve the housing crisis.

“Among the limits and challenges facing Saudi developers, is for example the regulations concerning the Municipality’s issuance of licenses, which must have a shorter processing time from the current minimum of at least two years up to a maximum of four years. In addition, the government should revise the mortgage law further, as we feel that the implementation of the current draft will have a negative effect on developers and financing companies,” said Riyad Ahmed Al-Thaqafi, CEO, Ewaan, said as he gave the keynote address called.

He added that there is a need for the government to appoint an agency that will regulate land prices to stop price escalation and manipulation. The government should also work to change the community culture of a majority of the population’s belief that they need a 200 or more square-meter home in order to own a house.

Al-Thaqafi also said that the two factors that would affect the housing sector through 2025 is rising population growth and decreasing income levels. In Saudi Arabia and the GCC, the main driver causing a housing crisis in major cities is urbanization or the migration of rural residents to live in the cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.

“It is expected by 2025 that urbanization will increase the population of large cities by between 52 and 58 percent, causing more demand for housing that very few will be able to afford due to increased inflation and a lower income level,” Al-Thaqafi said.

A lack of affordable housing and the increase of unemployment are the main social instigators underlying the social unrest over the past two years in the Arab world.

Among solutions offered by Al-Thaqafi is to improve development management processes such as an increased use of construction technology, stoppage of land prices speculation and education of consumers to prefer and enjoy living in smaller and more affordable residences.

He said that another idea could be the implementation of a new governmental body for financing real estate projects backed by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) that could provide project financing in place of banks, which usually do not want to offer financing for most projects.

Overall, Al-Thaqafi reiterated that among participants to events such as Cityscape Jeddah, government regulators should be present to discuss solutions.

“The government must realize that it cannot compete with the private sector in this matter, but must work with private sector developers in finding solutions,” Al-Thaqafi said.

Ewaan is developing a residential complex, Al- Fareeda, in North Jeddah, which includes 1,800 villas with full infrastructure services and facilities.

Representing a semi- government-back project, Mohammed Bawaked, executive vice president, Jeddah Development & Urban Regeneration Company, owned by the Jeddah Municipality, spoke about their new development in Jeddah called, Salman Bay.

The mega-housing project is being developed on an inland bay about 20 kilometers north of Jeddah on about 3.2 million square meters of land as part of the city’s future development plans. It will accommodate 25,000 units of apartment buildings dedicated to affordable housing. It will cater to 95,000 residents.

“While working to develop this project, we found many obstacles such as mainly financing issues with banks not wanting to offer financing,” Bawaked said. “We ended up overcoming this by finding internal financing by proposing to the contracting company to implement the work with no down payment, in which they accepted.”

He also said that other challenges lie in choosing the appropriate design to be of a comfortable size that consumers would like and still be deemed, “affordable.”

“It was difficult. We performed the study many times and had to change the design several times before coming up with a suitable design. In addition, we have arranged deals with the Saudi Electric Company (SEC), National Water Company (NWC) and stakeholders to come up with high level, but reasonably priced housing,” he said.

said that he agrees that there are many changes that must be made in order to find solutions, the most important being the public and private sector’s mutual participation in solving the housing crisis. The second, that instead of blaming the government, all developers must realize they have a role to play in cooperating. “We are all capable of making positive changes if we all take up the responsibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cityscape featured more than more than 50 local and regional exhibitors displaying their projects and services to an expected 10,000 visitors.

Major real estate companies were present at the event but most visible were Saudi banks and home finance companies.

“This signals the huge demand for home financing in Saudi Arabia,” said Hussain Al-Harthi, managing director of National Exhibitions Company. “The surge of activity comes in response to the approval of the mortgage law and the three laws published by SAMA last week, which obviously triggered developers and financiers to take swift actions and get ready to provide innovative solutions in lines with the new passed laws.”

Rayadah Investment Company, the real estate arm of the Saudi Public Pension Agency, showcased its mega residential project in north Jeddah, which is expected to cover 10 percent of the total real estate market needs for the next 10 years. Located in Obhur, Al Raeda Residential project comprises 8,000 units on a 2.5 million-square-meter site.

It is divided into 10 neighborhoods, five allocated for residential buildings, and five for villas, in addition to central zone for multipurpose usages. The project also comprises 24 schools, 15 mosques, general hospital, health club and a hotel supported with commercial shops to service guests.

Maceen Capital, a specialized and dynamic investment group, is present at Cityscape Jeddah this year to promote its SR 83 million real estate fund invested in developing a residential project in north Jeddah -Villatee Residential Project consisting of 52 upscale villas in a unique location in Obhur. The villas are available in five different architectural designs and sizes catering to different tastes and lifestyles.

“The location was selected very carefully to offer a unique living experience where new Jeddah is being shaped,” said Bader Al-Hammad, CEO of Maceen Capital. “The project is scheduled to be completed in two years and all services and facilities are available in location to guarantee a quiet, flexible and successful lifestyle.”

Samoa Real Estate Company is once again the principal sponsor of Cityscape Jeddah. This year the company revealed a new and ambitious project in the Western Province, Dahiat Sumou.

“Bawabat Makkah is a visionary city to be built on the western edge of the Makkah Holy Region, adjacent to the boundary line of the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway. The area of the city will occupy approximately 1.8 square km land and will provide much needed suitable residential housing to an estimated population of 25,000 people,” Khaled Al-Telmesani, CEO of Sumou stated.

Masharef Residential Project, developed by Kinan International Real Estate Development, also grabbed visitors’ attention. The 1 million M2 project site is located north of Jeddah and offers a wide range of products such as villas, apartments and residential/commercial lands. Kinan’s project targets the mid-income segment and the first two phases of the project has already been sold. Handover of units for the first phase began at the end of 2012.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 31,2020

Jeddah, Jul 31: Hajj 2020 pilgrims arrived in Muzdalifah Thursday night to rest after spending the day in Arafat.

Earlier, the pilgrims scaled Mount Arafat to pray and repent, as a highly unusual Hajj approached its climax. They listened to a sermon delivered by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea and prayed Dhuhr and Asr prayers together at the Al-Namirah Mosque in Arafat.

This year’s pilgrimage is the smallest in modern times, after the number of participants was greatly restricted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

Tight security was in place around the foot of the rocky hill outside Makkah, also known as Jabal Al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, in preparation for the high point of the annual ritual.

Video footage shown on state television showed the pilgrims setting off on their climb to the summit. They wore face masks and observed strict social-distancing rules imposed by Saudi authorities.As sprinklers sprayed water on them to provide relief from the summer desert heat, the pilgrims raised their palms as they climbed the slopes of the hill — the site of Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon. When they reached the top they recited holy verses and prayed for forgiveness for their sins.

Earlier, the pilgrims were taken in buses from Mina to Mount Arafat. Strict precautionary measures were in place, with each group accompanied by security teams, ambulances and civil defense vehicles. 

When they arrived, their temperatures were checked before they entered Namirah Mosque to hear a sermon that was translated into 10 languages.

“The camps were set up for pilgrims in Arafat early on,” said Minister of Hajj and Umrah Muhammad Salih Bentin. The sermon at Namirah Mosque was delivered by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea, who led the pilgrims in noon and afternoon prayers.

“During Hajj this year, we reiterate that it is essential for pilgrims, as well as everyone assisting them, to adhere to the precautionary regulations that have been implemented,” Al-Manea, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said during his sermon. “This is to be done for their own safety.

“Precautions have been put in place to protect lives against the damage that the pandemic can cause, and also to actualize Islam’s teachings pertaining to safeguarding human life by Allah’s permission.”

The stay in Arafat is described as the pinnacle of Hajj and Muslims around the world reflect the actions of pilgrims by asking for forgiveness and praying for their deepest desires.
Pilgrims left Arafat in coaches for Muzdalifah after sunset and will pray the Maghrib and Isha prayers there.

After sunset prayers, the pilgrims made their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, where they will spend the night before the final Hajj ritual, the symbolic stoning of the devil. 

This year, each pilgrim received sanitized pebbles in advance of the event on Friday, which is the first day of Eid Al-Adha.
This year the Kingdom faced the unprecedented challenge of ensuring pilgrims attending Hajj were protected as much as possible from the risks of the coronavirus.

They will then sleep, pray the Fajr prayer there tomorrow and then leave for Mina.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 4,2020

Beirut, Aug 4: A massive explosion has shaken the Lebanese capital of Beirut, with a very high number of casualties expected.

A warehouse at the Beirut Port caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, triggering a huge explosion, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Several smaller explosions were heard before the bigger one occurred.

Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s General Security, said that “highly explosive materials” confiscated earlier had been stored at the site.

Footage shared on social media captured the moment of the bigger explosion, with a colossal shock wave seen traveling fast across several hundreds of meters and shrouding the area in thick smoke.

The blast left enormous material damage to the surrounding buildings and structures. But it was not immediately known how big an area was affected.

There was also no immediate casualty count. Graphic amateur video from the scene showed bodies strewn on the ground, with their clothes blown off.

The NNA said rescue operations were underway. Ambulances were seen heading toward the scene in central Beirut.

Lebanese LBC television channel quoted Lebanon’s Health Minister Hamad Hasan as saying that the blast had caused a “very high number of injuries” and “extensive damage.”

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said an unspecified number of firefighters dispatched to extinguish the initial fire had been killed in the explosion.

“As they were putting out the fire, the explosion took place and we’ve [lost them],” he said, breaking down on live TV.

The explosion comes at a time when the Arab country is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades, and amid rising tensions with Israel.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 27,2020

Riyadh, Feb 27: Saudi Arabia on Thursday halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears about a new viral epidemic just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move coming as the Mideast has over 220 confirmed cases of the illness.

The extraordinary decision by Saudi Arabia stops foreigners from reaching the holy city of Mecca and the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure the world's 1.8 billion Muslims pray toward five times a day. It also said travel was suspended to Prophet Muhammad's mosque in Medina.

The decision showed the worry about the outbreak potentially spreading into Saudi Arabia, whose oil-rich monarchy stakes its legitimacy on protecting Islam's holy sites. The epicenter in the Mideast's most-affected country, Iran, appears to be in the holy Shiite city of Qom, where a shrine there sees the faithful reach out to kiss and touch it in reverence.

"Saudi Arabia renews its support for all international measures to limit the spread of this virus, and urges its citizens to exercise caution before traveling to countries experiencing coronavirus outbreaks," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the decision.

"We ask God Almighty to spare all humanity from all harm." Disease outbreaks always have been a concern surrounding the hajj, required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life, especially as pilgrims come from all over the world.

The earliest recorded outbreak came in 632 as pilgrims fought off malaria. A cholera outbreak in 1821, for instance, killed an estimated 20,000 pilgrims. Another cholera outbreak in 1865 killed 15,000 pilgrims and then spread worldwide.

More recently, Saudi Arabia faced a danger from a related coronavirus that caused Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. The kingdom increased its public health measures in 2012 and 2013, though no outbreak occurred.

While millions attend the 10-day hajj, this year set for late July into early August, millions more come during the rest of the year to the holy sites in the kingdom.

"It is unprecedented, at least in recent times, but given the worldwide spread of the virus and the global nature of the umrah, it makes sense from a public health and safety point of view," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. "Especially since the Iranian example illustrates how a religious crossroads can so quickly amplify the spread and reach of the virus." The virus that causes the illness named COVID-19 has infected more than 80,000 people globally, mainly in China. The hardest-hit nation in the Mideast is Iran, where Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 19 people have died among 139 confirmed cases.

Experts are concerned Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the illness's rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. For example, Iran still has not confirmed any cases in Mashhad, even though a number of cases reported in Kuwait are linked to the Iranian city.

In Bahrain, which confirmed 33 cases as of Thursday morning, authorities halted all flights to Iraq and Lebanon. It separately extended a 48-hour ban overflights from Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, through which infected travellers reached the island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there were no immediate plans to quarantine cities but acknowledged it may take "one, two or three weeks” to get control of the virus in Iran.

As Iran's 80 million people find themselves increasingly isolated in the region by the outbreak, the country's sanctions-battered economy saw its currency slump to its lowest level against the US dollar in a year on Wednesday.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.