Jordan Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Sunday opened the first phase of the national housing programme targetting individuals receiving low- and medium-level incomes, scheduled for implementation in Zarqa as well as the Karak, Amman, Tafileh and Mafraq governorates. The programme seeks to implement small housing clusters that provide holistic services to low- and medium-income demographics, built on lands owned by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC).
The initiative will witness the establishment of 900 residential apartments across the five governorates that are around 100-120sq.m. in size. The premier also laid the cornerstone for a number of investment, development and service projects in Zarqa, which span the housing, healthcare and public services sectors, to be executed in cooperation with the private sector, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. During his tour of the northern governorate, Razzaz visited the Jordanian Korean Institute for Technology, which is a pioneer training centre in technological professions and skills. In his address during the inauguration ceremony, the premier expressed the government's hopes for the launch of the housing programme that seeks to embed ideals of solidarity, taking into consideration the large number of underprivileged families who cannot find affordable living. "The programme offers Jordanian investors with a plethora of opportunities and creates jobs, which is part of the government's plans to energise the economy through the real estate and construction sectors," Razzaz noted. Minister of Public Works and Housing Falah Omoush, who is also chairman of the HUDC, said that in addition to establishing residential clusters, the project also seeks to provide a total of 1,700 plots of lands that boast a fully developed and serviced infrastructure, to families with a monthly income of less than JD700 at reasonable prices and with concessions, according to Petra. A total of 4,500 people will benefit from the residential apartments, Omoush said, adding that 240 apartments will be built in the city of Majd in Zarqa, 190 in Muwaqqar, 80 in Karak, 110 in Tafileh, 160 as part of the Amman 1 project and 120 in Mafraq. In the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud City in Zarqa, Razzaz laid the cornerstone for a number of projects to be implemented by the Land International Investment and Real Estate Development Company, the National Resources Investment and Development Corporation (Mawared) and the Ard Al Qamar Company. These projects include a 200-bed hospital at a cost of JD100 million, a holistic Islamic centre with a mosque that can accommodate 1,000 people, a library, various rooms, a public garden and playing fields with an area of 18 dunums, in addition to a mall that will create 2,800 job opportunities once it opens, Petra reported. "Zarqa was and remains a key pillar of production in the Kingdom, whether through industrial, commercial or service production," Razzaz said. "Our country has overcome several hardships and emerged far stronger, which has positively impacted the private sector and investors," he highlighted, reiterating the importance of the projects that are set to provide over 5,000 work opportunities. Source: The Jordan Times
