New apartments to be built
Photo: AFP
10,000 apartments to be built in east Jerusalem
New apartments part of Mayor Lupolianski's plan to offer low-cost housing to young couples
The Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee approved a plan that would see 10,000 new residential units built in east Jerusalem at a cost of NIS 12 million (close to $4 million.)
The move aims to boost Arab neighborhoods in the capital, as part of Mayor Uri Lupolinaki's plan to build 40,000 new residential units that would offer low-cost housing solutions to young couples.
Municipal officials in Jerusalem said that the construction plan is part of an effort to address residents' needs in the Old City in a bid to improve their quality of life.
The plan will offer city residents the possibility of quickly securing construction permits, without the need for a detailed blueprint.
In addition, the municipal government in the capital was said to be adopting a policy of ignoring construction violations in east Jerusalem and granting permits to such sites after they were built.
Every year, discussions are held in respect to roughly 200 different construction plans, and normally several hundred residential units are approved each year. Jerusalem's municipal government said it intends to come up with additional development plans for Arab neighborhoods by 2009.
