HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has announced the launch of a massive plan that will see more than 34,000 residential units built across the country within the next six years.

Developed for the local Emirati population, the project has had funds worth $8.7 billion allocated to it, and it is expected to be completed by 2025, a report by WAM said. It added that Sheikh Mohammed had also given directives to raise the value of the salary ceiling of beneficiaries obtaining support from the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme from AED10,000 to AED15,000.

He also issued a directive to raise the value of housing loans for citizens in government residential neighbourhoods from AED800,000 to AED1.2 million as a maximum loan amount, depending on the value of the premises.

The decisions came in the wake of an inspection tour conducted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, during which he visited a number of housing and road infrastructure projects in Ras Al Khaimah, the report said.

“We have pledged, from the beginning, to ensure that every UAE citizen is provided with a home, and that no area is left undeveloped,” he said during the tour.

“The quality of housing across the country is of a unified standard,” he noted, adding that housing services for UAE citizens are also unified.

“We want higher levels of competitiveness between government sectors for the benefit of Emiratis. The Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme holds a special value providing necessary services to Zayed’s children,” he added.