Saudi Arabia’s Housing Ministry has said it will offer local developers partnership deals to develop up to 1.5 million homes over the next eight years, according to a statement from the kingdom’s housing minister on 8 June.

“We are preparing five or six types of partnership between the ministry and the developer,” said Housing Minister Majed al-Hogail at a news conference on the kingdom’s economic reform plans.

The minister’s statement went on to say the developers would act as investors, taking on the risk as well as “designing products in line with market demand”.

This follows news that the Housing Ministry is planning to spend up to SR59.2bn ($15.8bn) over the next five years to ease the shortage of affordable homes.

The target was revealed on 6 June as more details from the National Transformation Plan (NTP) were made public.

Local developer Dar al-Arkan also announced it is in talks with the government to develop housing units under the economic reform plan.

In a statement on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), the firm said it is currently negotiating terms with the Housing Ministry.