Sharjah: His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, has approved the disbursement of Dh20 million for emergency housing cases.

Shaikh Sultan issued the instruction to allocate an outlay of Dh20 million, which can be topped up if required, to the Housing Department to provide alternative housing for citizens living in dilapidated or unsuitable houses.

"The capacity of the Sharjah government to build houses reaches up to 1,000 housing units per year, while receiving 5,000 housing applications," Shaikh Sultan said. The Sharjah Ruler promised to speed up the building and handing over of housing units to eligible people.

"Although we are stepping up our efforts to speed the building process, some people are impatient, however I promise that the emergency housing will be completed as quickly as possible," he said.

Shaikh Sultan urged the Housing Department to quickly finish the list of beneficiaries for emergency housing for the upcoming five years so as to be completed in one and a half years.

He stressed his keenness to quickly meet the housing requirements of Sharjah citizens, adding that overcrowding in houses can cause many social problems.

Ceremonial visits

Meanwhile, Shaikh Sultan yesterday received at Al Bade' Palace Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, who came to congratulate him on his safe return following successful surgery.

Shaikh Mansour also conveyed to Shaikh Sultan the greetings of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nah-yan and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Shaikh Sultan also received greetings on his safe return from Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance; Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region; Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour; Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education; Dr Hadef Ju'an Al Daheri, Minister of Justice; Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development; Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief, and other Shaikhs and senior officials.

Shaikh Sultan thanked them for their well wishes.