Priority goes to Emirati owners of incomplete houses
DUBAI // Emiratis who were unable to complete building work on their homes due to lack of funding have had their applications for government housing aid approved.
A total of 420 people have been approved for aid totalling Dh207 million as part of the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP) after a visit by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who asked for the programme to focus on this group's requests for help.
Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Public Works and chairman of the programme, said these applicants had special importance that required a swift response so they may have housing stability, since their dreams of having their own home stalled due to a lack of finances.
“These people have already spent a lot of money on getting the project this far and now can’t even make use of the house as it is incomplete,” said Dr Al Nuaimi.
“Also the risk of leaving a building unfinished can damage the structure and leave the whole project unusable.”
People whose projects stalled at 30 to 80 per cent complete were selected for the aid, said Jamila Al Shamsi, director general of the SZHP.
“This is to ensure that we can complete construction of the homes before the structure becomes compromised,” said Ms Al Shamsi, who added the beneficiaries can take advantage of home designs available as part of the programme.
A total of 32 designs using the latest specifications to suit all tastes and needs are available, including small, medium and large home.
Ms Al Shamsi explained that the SZHP had put forward a number of initiatives to reduce the cost of housing construction, including signing partnership agreements with building materials companies to offer discounted rates to beneficiaries.
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