His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday announced the establishment of King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz City in Zarqa to tackle overcrowding and help citizens on low and limited incomes buy suitable housing.

The announcement was made during a meeting at the Royal Hashemite Court attended by the visiting Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.

Each housing unit will cost JD30,000. Local banks, mainly Islamic, will be contracted to provide loans to citizens at government-subsidized interest rates over 20 years.

The city will include public facilities, banks, parks, mosques as well as sports, cultural and recreational centres.

The cost of the land on which the city will be built was estimated at JD600 million, while another JD650 million will go to infrastructure projects.

The Jordan Times