With the growing population in the Gulf region and the shortage of affordable housing, the GCC countries are taking serious measures to improve the housing situation. In Qatar, the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs and Housing has been providing since the mid-1960s affordable housing and furnishing allowances for Qatari citizens with limited income or special needs. In 2007, a general law granted Qatari citizens special facilities for housing loans and the purchase of land. Recently, the ceiling for home loans was doubled to $ 330,000 for eligible nationals and repayment tenure was extended to 37 years. The Qatar Development Bank is the main institution responsible for providing government housing loans for citizens. In Bahrain, in 2007, the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Habitat Award was established to promote the principles of good governance and equity in housing. The Bahraini government launched a series of regional and international conferences addressing housing issues, the most recent being the Middle-East Affordable Housing Development Summit in 2012. Amendments to the law on land and building regulations now allow the construction of additional houses on plots of land and the enlargement of small houses. A major reclamation project is Diar Al-Muharraq, supported by the government and launched by the private sector, a mix of residential and commercial properties with over 30,000 housing units. In January 2012, the government struck a deal with the private sector to deliver more than 4,000 homes for low-income citizens. Eskan Bank provides housing finance solutions for Bahraini citizens within the framework of the national economic vision.