Saudi Housing Ministry Reports 17% Rise in Construction of Units

A for-sale banner is placed on a private villa under construction, near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 29, 2018. (Reuters)
A for-sale banner is placed on a private villa under construction, near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 29, 2018. (Reuters)
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Saudi Housing Ministry Reports 17% Rise in Construction of Units

A for-sale banner is placed on a private villa under construction, near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 29, 2018. (Reuters)
A for-sale banner is placed on a private villa under construction, near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 29, 2018. (Reuters)

The number of completed housing units in Saudi Arabia increased 1.75 percent to 82,500 units during the first quarter of this year, compared to 81,100 units in Q4 2019, revealed the Housing Ministry’s periodic housing bulletin.

The number of housing units that began construction during Q1 2020 increased 17.01 percent to 85,900 units, compared to 73,400 units in Q4 2019, it added.

The bulletin also pointed to a slight increase of 0.8 percent in the housing sector price index during Q1 2020, compared to the Q4 2019. Land option prices increased by a similar rate of 0.8 percent, while the price index for villa options rose 1.5 percent in Q1 2020, compared to Q4 2019.

Further, the Estate Contributions Commission (Tasfiah) announced that it will put up for sale 377 plots, estimated at around 21 million square kilometers, in several cities across the Kingdom for commercial, housing or land uses.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia's Sakani program revealed that a total of 19,800 households benefitted in May from its various housing solutions and options. Among them, 10,700 families moved into their houses. This brings the total of households who benefited from all options since the beginning of 2020 to 150,300, including 53,800 who moved into their houses.



Lebanon Receives $250 million World Bank Loan to Ease Power Problems

A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon Receives $250 million World Bank Loan to Ease Power Problems

A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

The World Bank has granted Lebanon a $250 million loan aimed at helping alleviate persistent power cuts worsened by last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, the country's finance ministry said on Thursday.

Even before the conflict, Lebanon had for years been struggling with a severe shortage of imported fuel and poor infrastructure.

Following the conflict, however, the World Bank said it would need around $11 billion for reconstruction and recovery, Reuters reported.

The fighting between the Iran-backed group and Israel ended for the most part in November through a brittle ceasefire brokered by the United States, though the two sides accuse each other of failing to fully implement the deal.

Lebanon had said it received preliminary approval to increase a World Bank reconstruction loan to $400 million from $250 million. The loan is part of a $1 billion reconstruction program, with the remainder of the financing to come from international aid.