Rents drain KD450m from Kuwait budget

09/08/2025

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 9: Housing activists, who met with Minister of State for Municipal and Housing Affairs Abdul Latif Al-Mishari on Thursday, described the meeting as “frank and transparent”. Sources revealed that during the meeting, which lasted for more than two hours, the housing activists discussed the biggest challenges the housing sector is currently facing; as well as ways to develop policies and mechanisms related to housing care, land allocation and real estate development projects.

Meanwhile Al- Mishari pointed out at the meeting that “scarcity remains one of the biggest obstacles to solving the housing problem.” He said the number of farms in the country has increased fivefold since the beginning of the millennium and has become a burden on the land portfolio, especially since many of them have been transformed into resorts and concrete buildings rented for recreational purposes without any real agricultural return.

He stated that the country is on the cusp of a major housing boom aimed at completing 170,000 housing units over the next 10 years in new cities; such as Al-Sabriya, Al-Khiran and Nawaf Al- Ahmad. In the same context, housing activist Mohammad Al-Nasafi disclosed in a press statement after the meeting that the value of tenders supervised by the Housing Ministry is estimated at KD2.75 billion; exceeding what the Ministry of Public Works oversees -- a reflection of the magnitude of the challenge and the responsibility it bears.

Al-Nasafi expects Chinese companies to play a vital role in building major residential cities in the coming period, as part of accelerating the pace of construction and easing pressure on waiting lists. He added that rental allowances drain around KD 450 million annually from the State budget, while suggesting the construction of multi-story residential buildings as one of the solutions. He explained that the strategy aims to stop this waste and achieve faster stability for eligible citizens.

By Mohammad Al-Enezi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff