RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has offered 6,000 plots of land to the beneficiaries of the Sakani housing program in the first half of the year amid efforts of the Kingdom to make housing affordable. In an announcement, the platform said the initiative is a follow-up to the launch of eight free housing plans in 11 regions by the Ministry of Housing. “It is part of the joint efforts to improve affordability in housing to achieve the goals of the Iskan Program, one of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 programs,” said the statement. According to Sakani, Makkah received 3,982 free plots of land, with 54 in Rabigh governorate, while Riyadh bagged 911. The initiative also made 224 lands available in the Eastern province and 61 plots in the Al-Hinakiyah governorate of Madinah. Qassim, Tarif and Hubuna obtained 169, 161 and 100 plots, respectively. The ministry also provided 182 plots in Dumat Al-Jandal province in Al-Jawf, 128 in Hail and 40 in Jazan and Al-Baha. The announcement further said the program would continue offering more land parcels in the coming period through its website. These could be reserved electronically after selecting the appropriate land and fulfilling the contractual obligations. In March, 10,606 Saudi families benefited from the program, of which 9,089 families were allotted their first homes. This brought the total number to receive support to more than 21,000 in the first three months of the year. The fund also deposited over SR2.7 billion into the accounts of Sakani beneficiaries during the same period. Founded in 2017 by the Saudi Ministry of Housing and the Real Estate Development Fund, the Sakani program aims to increase the proportion of Saudi households that own a house to 70 percent by 2030. This includes through creating new housing stock, assigning plots and homes to citizens, and providing financing for their purchases. The housing industry in the Kingdom has been witnessing brighter prospects in recent times, with increasing activity in property buying and sectoral investments. In May, the housing market got a fresh stream of liquidity, with Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. announcing SR3.5 billion in sukuk issuances.