SAUDI ARABIA has launched construction work on a 700,000-sq-m low-cost housing project for nationals in the Western Province, a report said.

A spokesman of the Housing Ministry was quoted in the Arab News report as saying that work has already started on the housing units in Al Jammom and the development of the new town is on schedule to be completed soon.

A recent research indicated that Saudi Arabia will need three million housing units annually to cater to the rising demand, the report said.

The government plans to build 500,000 low-cost houses at a cost of SR250 billion ($66.6 billion), which will also help reduce the prices of rental apartment and real estate, the report added.