Egyptian authorities will soon allocate residential land at no charge to low-income families throughout the country, according to Al-Gomhuria daily.
These real-estate subsidies are provided by the new Mortgage Leasing Law, recently approved by Prime Minister Atef Obeid, stated Mohamed Solaiman, Egypt’s Minister of Development, Housing and New Urban Communities.
Solaiman added that studies are currently being prepared to equip these lots with appropriate services and facilities. The government will finance up to 50 percent of the costs of these services.
To further aid the new residents, the government will only impose symbolic fees on raw materials for construction and land registration transactions.
In addition, the 300,000 new apartments will be built and long-term housing loans will be provided whose installment charges will be based on an individual’s income.
Market sources anticipate the value of future requests for housing loans to reach nine billion Egyptian pounds ($2.3 million) after the first year of enactment of the law.
It is estimated that in the Cairo area alone, there are already some one million new unsold housing units awaiting a mechanism for buyers to finance their purchases.
Hence, the law is expected to revive the real estate market from a three year slump. –(MENA Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
