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Why Rouhani’s social housing scheme faces more than bumpy start

The Rouhani administration’s long-delayed scheme to provide social housing for marginalized households finally appears ready to be implemented — but not without a bumpy start.
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After a two-year delay, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s administration is preparing to implement its social housing program. The scheme aims to provide 570,000 residential units to households on low incomes or with special needs by the end of Iranian year 1400 (March 20, 2022). The proposal was approved Dec. 11 by the Infrastructure Commission, and it is now waiting for final approval from the Cabinet.

Government officials say the program will be a substitute for the controversial Mehr housing scheme, which has been mired in controversy. Initiated by former populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Mehr scheme has failed to hit its targets due to what housing experts have called bad financing, poor building quality and inappropriate construction locations. The Mehr scheme has remained on Rouhani’s shoulders due to commitments the previous administration made, but it is in its final steps now. Indeed, Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Ahmad Asghari Mehrabadi told the official IRNA news agency in August that the massive project will be completed by the end of the current Iranian year (ending March 20, 2017).

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