Around 6,000 new government homes will be ready within the next six months, said a top official, adding they will be handed over to people who have been on a waiting list for 19 years.

Almost half (45 per cent) of Bahrain's 54,000 requests for government homes date back to 1993, Housing Ministry assistant under-secretary for housing policies and services Khalid Al Amer was quoted as saying in the Gulf Daily News.

"The ministry is following a strategic plan to cover old requests by this year in all governorates," said Al Amer. "It will firstly cover requests dating back to 1993, 1994 and 1995 then the three following years will be answered by next year."

Al Amer was speaking on the sidelines of a media trip organised by the Housing Ministry to brief the media on latest projects and ministry updates.

It involved a visit to four sites, Hunaniya, Dar Kulaib, Malkiya and Northern Town, scheduled to be complete this year.

The largest project being handled by the ministry is the Northern Town, consisting of 15,616 units, including houses, apartments and lands.

It consists of 14 islands, 11 of which are being reclaimed to pave the way for the project.

Ministry construction projects and maintenance director Sami Mandeel said construction work on homes in the first island was scheduled to be completed by September this year.

"It features 530 housing units which are designed by the ministry and two consultancy companies," he said.

"Seventeen units will be designated for those with special needs, built with extra width and having only one floor to allow mobility of the physically impaired, part of the total 35 units allocated to those with special needs in the project."

"The cost of reclamation and preparing the area is around BD8 million ($20.94 million)."

The total project is expected to be complete between 2016 and 2019 and will feature 13 public beaches to serve residents and visitors.

"It all depends on the economic and political stance of the country," said Mandeel.

Meanwhile, the Malkiya housing project which has cost BD8.5 million and consists of 406 houses, is set to be handed over to residents in May.

Each home has four rooms, living room, hall and three toilets. "It is currently in the finishing stage and will then be handed over to residents to move in," said Mandeel.

Additionally, 339 houses are also set to be ready by November this year as part of the Hunaniya housing project.

Meanwhile, Dar Kulaib housing project, covering 156 houses, has already been distributed to residents. "The project cost BD5 million and each house covers an area of 198 sq m," said Mandeel.

He stressed the ministry was working to solve the housing problem, but stated the number of requests has risen from 4,000 a year to around 6,000. "This is in addition to the already accumulating requests," he said. – TradeArabia News Service