Saudi Arabia has committed to delivering 1.5 million housing units over the next five years, according to the minister of housing Majed al-Huqail.

The ministry previously committed to spending SR59.2bn ($15.8bn) on building 400,000 affordable homes by 2020. It has also said it is studying different types of partnerships with local and international developers to build 1.5 million houses by 2024.

Projects include a $20bn agreement signed last year with a consortium led by South Korean Hanwha Engineering & Construction to build 100,000 homes in Saudi Arabia over the next 10 years.

There will also be an SR3bn programme under build–operate–transfer (BOT) and PPP systems providing housing to widows and orphans through charities and orphanages in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development.

Saudi Arabia is facing a significant challenge to meet the housing demand. More than 65 per cent of its 30 million population under the age of 30, and 750,000 families are eligible for public housing across the kingdom’s urban areas, according to government statistics.