Dubai: The Shaikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP) has approved the names of 2,136 beneficiaries for housing aid valued at Dh1.15 billion.
The aid will be provided as 1,954 housing loans and 182 grants. The names of the beneficiaries were approved during a meeting chaired by Dr Abdullah Bel Haif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Public Works and Chairman of SZHP.
The batch of beneficiaries will be announced over two phases and procedures for the aid will be activated once all the house building related procedures are completed and building permits are acquired.
The approval is in line with the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to provide Emiratis with a dignified life because their welfare tops the priorities of the government.
The approval is also a result of the close follow-up and directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who is keen to achieve the goals of the UAE National Agenda, culminating in achieving the UAE Vision 2021 to shorten the waiting period for a housing loan approval to two years.
During the meeting, Al Nuaimi congratulated members of the board on the occasion of Ramadan, and said the month is an opportunity to make Emiratis happy. He stressed that the housing sector remains a top priority in UAE policies.
The board discussed various topics, including the exemption of SZHP beneficiaries from administrative and building permit fees.
Al Nuaimi also hailed the instructions of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, which emphasise that the home models built in residential complexes must be within the financial capabilities of Emiratis in order not to burden them with extra costs, with the government bearing all service-related, investments and public utility expenses in these residential complexes.
Al Nuaimi praised the efforts of local government institutions across the UAE who contributed to achieving the objectives and vision of SZHP by facilitating administrative and building permit procedures, as well as providing the plots for building the residential projects.
