According to the Public Relations and International Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization, Mehdi Moslemkhani said in a meeting with members of the Kish Island Investors and Entrepreneurs Association: rising housing costs have made retention of personnel in the island’s governmental, service and private sectors difficult; therefore, housing has been defined as one of the special missions of the Development (Construction) Deputy.
He added: teachers, medical staff, employees of service-providing agencies and workers employed in the private sector, despite their effective role in the administration and economy of the island, face problems securing suitable housing. This situation has also created problems for employers and investors who need to retain their specialist staff.
Moslemkhani, referring to the preparation of a multi-part program in the housing area, said: the Kish Free Zone Organization has not limited itself to a single model and, in accordance with the conditions of natives, government employees, private sector activists, organizational forces and workers, has considered different methods for providing housing or accommodation.
Transfer of housing to natives as rent-to-own
The Development and Infrastructure Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization, regarding the natives’ housing plan, said: in past years a number of island natives had registered to receive housing, but no effective action had been taken. Accordingly, a participatory project was defined so that the organization’s share of this project would be provided to eligible natives in the form of long-term rent-to-own.
According to Moslemkhani, registration of applicants and launching of the related system have been completed and a mass-construction developer with execution capacity has been considered to advance the project. Payment terms for the units will also be arranged according to applicants’ economic ability and status.
Two thousand units foreseen in the service housing scheme
Moslemkhani continued about the service housing scheme: this plan is envisioned for employees of the public and private sectors so that qualified individuals can access home ownership, according to the scheme’s regulations and at full cost price. Use of this capacity will be allocated to those who have a defined record and commitment of service on the island and is not intended for people who have a short-term presence in Kish to benefit from transfer of housing at full cost price.
He stated that a capacity of about two thousand units has been foreseen for the service housing scheme and added: nearly half of this capacity was offered in the first phase call and the second phase is ready for issuance of a call and attracting investors.
The Development and Infrastructure Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to meetings held about the island’s economic resilience, said: part of the service housing capacity is allocated to business owners and economic activists and another part to teachers, medical staff and public service employees. The method of identifying and selecting eligible individuals in the economic sector is being developed by the Economic Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization.
Moslemkhani, on how the service housing scheme will be managed, said: overall management of this scheme has been assigned to the Kish Investment and Development Company, but this company is not directly responsible for building the structures and is tasked with attracting investors, selecting builders and guiding the overall execution process of the project.
He continued: the first phase public call was published in widely circulated newspapers, on the Kish Free Zone Organization website and on the portals of the Kish Investment and Development Company, and 13 investors submitted their proposals. After review, evaluation and scoring of the proposals, the project investor was selected.
The Development and Infrastructure Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to criteria for selecting a builder, said: this project needs a builder who both can produce housing at an appropriate full cost price and has investment and financing capability; therefore, selection of the builder is not based solely on contractor ranking and the specialized regulations of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development in the field of mass housing construction have been considered.
He added: in the second phase the presence of active builders and investors in Kish will be welcomed and within the framework of the call documents and evaluation regulations, effective and provable experience of activity on the island can be considered as one of the specialized criteria for reviewing proposals. Local builders who lack sufficient financial capacity can also form a consortium with other investors and participate in the project.
Token-based financing and pursuing tokenization of land
Moslemkhani, about the token-based financing model for the housing scheme, said: one of the problems of housing cooperatives is inability to continuously secure financial resources and project stoppages during execution. The new model is designed so that applicants’ resources are gradually attracted and the project does not face cash shortages during construction.
He emphasized: an initial amount will be set to define the investment package and the final project cost will be calculated in accordance with contractual regulations, physical progress, expert evaluation and current conditions.
The Development and Infrastructure Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization also said: alongside the token-based financing model for housing projects, a financing model based on tokenization of land is being pursued, with observance of legal requirements and after completing expert stages and obtaining necessary permits, with the aim of securing resources and helping resilience of small businesses during income downturns.
Moslemkhani stressed: the service housing projects are not competitors to luxury residential and investment projects in Kish, but are complementary to them and are designed to provide housing for employees and the island’s required workforce.
Revision of the worker accommodation implementation model
The Development and Infrastructure Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization, about the worker accommodation plan, said: the lands required for this plan have been identified and located and three calls for attracting investors have been held so far. After discussions with economic activists, some parts of the implementation model and the project’s operational period are being revised to increase its economic attractiveness for investors.
He added: worker accommodation complexes will be designed as light structures, single-storey and with specified capacities, and in addition to living space, required welfare services for residents will be provided there. The aim of this plan is not to build dormitories lacking facilities, but to provide a suitable environment for living and accommodation of the employed workforce.
According to Moslemkhani, an investor can build a worker accommodation complex for their own staff or allocate part of its capacity to other economic actors. In designing this plan, instead of dividing land among a large number of applicants and creating small plots, lands with accommodation capacities of about 100, 150 or 200 people have been defined; because fragmenting land makes project management difficult.
He continued: the maps and specifications of the lands have been prepared and their information will be published through the Organization’s investment system. Selection of investors will also take place after official registration of proposals and completion of the review and scoring process.
The Development and Infrastructure Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to readiness announced by some trade communities to implement this plan, said: in past meetings groups such as the Hoteliers Association have declared willingness to participate in providing staff accommodation and the Organization has introduced the envisaged capacities and lands for initial review and formal investment process.
Organizational and personnel housing foreseen for public and private sectors
Moslemkhani, about the organizational housing plan, said: about one thousand organizational housing units have been foreseen in several participatory projects. These units will not become the property of the employees but will be used to house personnel of administrative, law enforcement, security and service-providing agencies who operate on the island periodically.
He further emphasized implementation of personnel housing for private sector employees and said: implementation of this plan has been agreed in principle and its lands and proposed areas have also been specified; however, commencement of execution is subject to finalizing the legal and operational model of the plan and determining how the Organization, associations and economic actors will participate within a joint working group.
The Development and Infrastructure Deputy of the Kish Free Zone Organization added: hotels and other economic complexes can participate in this plan to provide housing for their employees. Implementation of these projects, in addition to helping retention of specialist staff, will increase construction activity, economic circulation and job creation on the island.
Increasing housing production and supply; the main focus of programs
Moslemkhani continued by referring to the regulatory role of the Kish Free Zone Organization in the housing market and said: part of the responsibility for supervision and market regulation is assigned to the Economic Deputy and programs and actions in this field are being developed and implemented.
He concluded by stressing: the Organization’s main goal is to increase housing production and strengthen the supply side on the island so that natives, employees, service personnel and private sector activists can access suitable housing or accommodation according to their conditions.