AN, RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ministries of information and housing launched a new program on Sunday to build houses for the Kingdom’s media professionals as part of Sakani, a Saudi-wide housing development scheme. Sakani was launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Housing to build homes across Saudi Arabia and 280,000 units were provided in its first year with a further 300,000 built in 2018, according to the ministry. The new initiative signed on Sunday will support Saudi media professionals by creating residential neighborhoods specifically for those working in the Kingdom’s media industry.

Minister of Information Turki Al-Shabana and Housing Minister Majid Al-Haqeel signed the agreement on the project at Riyadh’s DigitalCity.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of officials from both ministries as well as a group of Saudi media figures and representatives from financial bodies. Al-Shabana said during the ceremony that the new initiative is an “important step in the strategic partnership between both ministries,” and that the it would make it easier for media professionals to obtain residences in the “easiest and fastest way.”