The government is determined to complete the Mehr Housing Project by the end of the first half of the upcoming fiscal year (starting March 21), deputy minister of roads and urban development, Mohammad Pejman said at a press conference held in Birjand, the capital city of the northeastern province of South Khorasan, on Saturday.
“There are currently 2.5 million Mehr housing units across the country, of which 1.4 million units have been completed and turned over to citizens,” he was quoted by IRNA as saying.
The Mehr Hosing Project, initiated in 2007 by the former administration, was expected to provide two million low-income strata with housing units through free land and cheap credits. But the nationwide scheme slowed down later due to lack of funding. So far, there have been conflicting reports on the extent of the project’s progress.
“Iran is facing a deficit of nearly 1.5 million residential units,” he said, noting that to respond to the growing population, about 1 to 1.1 million extra residential units need to be built in the next fiscal year.
He noted that the problem can be dealt with the help of mass constructors’ contribution to the housing market. He underlined that the government’s priority is to complete projects which have been left unfinished.
