Saudi Arabia’s Housing Minister Majed Al-Hogail announced the establishment of a refinancing company for the country’s housing sector, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The new company will provide refinancing of SAR 50 bn to the housing sector over the next five years. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference, the minister expects that the new firm will aid in developing more housing units over the next few years.

The ministry and the minister himself have faced criticism in the past over their failure to provide affordable housing units to their citizens. In line with this recent development, official figures on housing in the kingdom recently came under scrutiny.