Manama Bahrain is set to announce on Monday a massive housing project that will help satisfy the demand for government-built houses.
Under the 2.5 billion Bahraini Dinars plan, ($6.6 billion or Dh 24.24 billion), 50,000 housing units will be built in three years in partnership with the private sector, Majeed Al Alawi, the newly-appointed housing minister, said in an interview published by Dow Jones on Sunday.
Around 45,000 limited-income people who applied to receive a house or a loan to build a house are believed to be on the official waiting list, and the news about the new plan will certainly be highly appreciated.
Al Alawi reportedly said that government land has already been allocated to the project. "I have the land, I have the money, I have the plans, I have the architectural designs, I even have the contractors waiting," he was quoted as saying.
Home loans, currently at a maximum of 40,000 Bahraini dinars, will be boosted to 60,000 Bahraini dinars, according to the report.
A better and more efficient housing deal has been a major demand by protesters who have been calling for more reforms in the country.
On Sunday morning, protesters gathered in front of the government headquarters in Manama to press their demands, while a smaller number remained at the Pearl roundabout, the epicentre for their protests.
On Saturday afternoon, they formed a human chain extending from the roundabout to Al Fateh Mosque where two massive demonstrations were held by the National Unity Rally, an umbrella for thousands of people gathered to express support for the government while voicing their own demands for the future of Bahrain.
Bahrain is now grappling with the various demands made by different groups of people as the country looks for a way out of the crisis that is making heavy demands on its economy.
On Friday, Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the interior minister, told the editors in chief of the local dailies that the ministry would be hiring 20,000 Bahrainis.
The decision was amid confirmations that the US administration has expressed its full support to the Bahraini rulers while encouraging the opposition to work from within the system in a clear indication that it would not apply the same strategy as with Egypt.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Americans, fearful that the fall of Bahrain's government would cost the US a critical ally and potentially move the country toward Iran's orbit, have asked protesters to negotiate with the ruling family which is promising major changes.