Morocco announces $ 2.52 bln program to fight unhealthy housing

Morocco has worked out a program to fight unhealthy housing worth 28.86 milliards Dirhams, nearly $ 2.52 billion, Moroccan housing secretary of state, Mohamed M'barki, said on Wednesday.

Half of the amount will be financed by beneficiaries and the other half by public subsidies, the official told the house of representatives.

The total public subsidy for the program stands at 13.5 billion dirhams ($ 1.17 billion), he said, adding 300 million dirhams ($ 26.08 million) will be mobilized part of the state budget, 400 million dirhams ($ 34.78 million) will be paid by the Hassan II Development Fund, 350 million ($ 30.43 million) by the Housing Solidarity Fund and 300 million dirhams ($ 26.08 million) by local communities.

The figures disclosed by M'barki show that 780,000 households live in unhealthy houses, including 262,000 families in shanty-towns and 518,000 in illegally-constructed houses.