GCC housing ministers end 13th meeting in Kuwait

The 13th meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) housing ministers hosted by Kuwait came to a close on Thursday.
"GCC countries are paying more attention to the housing issue and providing residence for their citizens to achieve social security and welfare," Minister of State for Housing Affairs Yasser Abul, said on the sidelines of the meeting. All participants hailed the meeting, saying it was successful, he confirmed.
He added that six-nation bloc "look forward to enhancing further cooperation in order to reach practical solutions to their housing issues," he added.
He underlined the importance of benefiting from the successful experiences of some countries that have been able to overcome their housing problems in addition to exchanging visits between the countries of the GCC in order to be more acquainted with the latest developments on that issue.
The minister affirmed that Kuwait's Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) is committed to the distribution of 12,000 housing units to citizens by the end of 2014.
"There is a strategic plan made by the PAHW and would be submitted to relavent parties to discuss it as a future solution to the problem," he pointed out.
Concerning the hiking real estate prices, he said that the solution is to increase the number of plots of land in order to make a balance between supply and demand, stressing that the housing issue is being given priority.
"Getting a proper residence is one of the elements of stability and the decent living of man," he said, adding that providing housing units for citizens is a "huge responsibility." "The State of Kuwait has been keen on establishing a concept on the state's responsibility for housing care over more than 50 years in order to meet the demands of citizens upon the instructions of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah," he added.
This move will be made by building new cities that will meet the demands of citizens, including the requirements of security, education and healthcare, he said.
For his part, GCC Assistant Secretary General for Environment and Human Affairs Abdullah Al-Hashim said that the five-day meeting discussed creating a database to include all codes of buildings, labor and new research on housing.
He added that the meeting also focused on outlining a strategy and a joint plan in order to absorb the overpopulation issue.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Credit Bank (KCB) Director General Salah Al-Mudhaf pointed out the role of banks in GCC countries in financing housing projects, stressing the KCB's role on this regard for citizens who are granted plots of land by the state.