Gulf housing ministers adopt new guides and standards for developing residential projects

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During its twenty-fourth meeting in Manama, the Committee of Ministers concerned with housing affairs in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries approved a number of guides, standards and initiatives aimed at developing housing work and enhancing the quality of housing projects in the GCC countries.

The outcomes of the meeting included the adoption of a guide for planning vital residential communities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, a guide for digital platforms for housing financing for individuals, in addition to a guide for using modern construction methods to improve and control the quality of construction of residential projects.

The committee also approved updating the guide to the list of technical standards developed for planning, design and building systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to adopting the value engineering guide in housing projects, the guide to sustainable housing in housing projects, and the strategic guide for social and development housing.

The outputs included the adoption of 39 new indicators and statistics in the field of housing work, in addition to implementing three virtual brainstorming sessions that addressed the stages of the planning process, the stages of the design process, and the elements of housing unit design.

The Committee also blessed the adoption of the unified rules for joint property owners in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries by the Supreme Council at its forty-sixth session.

She praised the success of the seventh session of the Council of Cooperation Council in the field of housing for the year 2026, which was entitled “An integrated housing project...that enhances the quality of life,” in addition to the parallel honoring of the award for the categories of the private sector, non-profit institutions, and individuals with good hands.

It also approved the launch of the eighth session of the Council for Housing Cooperation Award for the years 2027 and 2028, and praised the success of the dialogue sessions and panels organized by the General Secretariat during the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, in May 2026.

The outputs also included the preparation and implementation of 6 housing initiatives from member states in cooperation with the General Secretariat during the year 2027.