This Day in History
This Day in History (1961): Home Ownership Program marks 10th anniversary
Over the past decade, more than 3,000 Saudis have been able to obtain their own home under the program.
From the July 26, 1961, edition of the Sun and Flare
Aramco's Home Ownership Program has turned 10 years old. On July 17, 1951, Loan Agreement No. 1 for SR 15,500 was signed in Dhahran by a Saudi employee planning to buy a house in South al-Khobar.
Over the decade since, the Home Ownership Division of the Arab Development Department has made 3,428 loan agreements, enabling 3,090 Saudi employees to obtain homes of their own.
An additional 200 currently have new houses in various stages of completion. The company has committed a total SR 102,100,000 for financial assistance to employees participating in the plan.
From South al-Khobar, the sites of houses acquired under the Home Ownership Program have spread to every area where Aramco has its operations. More than half of their owners live in or near al-Khobar and Dammam.
Over 500 Ras Tanura employees have acquired Home Ownership houses in Rahimah Town, and Madinat-Abqaiq has been chosen by 150 employees who work in Abqaiq District.
A growing number of employees are selecting sites for buying or building homes in such locations as al-Hasa Oasis, Saihat, Qatif, Safwa, Tarut Island, and Jubail.
Caption for top photo: Rahima Town, where more than 500 Saudi company employees working in Ras Tanura have built their own homes, is typical of many local communities that have grown rapidly since Aramco launched its Home Ownership Program 10 years ago. The first house was started here in 1953.
Also on this date
2016 — Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth
2016 — Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for President of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia
2005 — Mumbai, India, receives nearly 40 inches of rain within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing more than 5,000 people
1990 — The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.W. bush
1977 — The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government
1963 — The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan
1952 — King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad
1948 — President Harry S Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the U.S. military
1936 — King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial
1908 — U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the chief Examiner, which is later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation
1892 — Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain
1847 — Liberia declares its independence from the U.S.
1803 — The first public railway, the Surrey Iron Railway, opens in south London
1775 — The office that would later become the U.S. Post Office Department is established by the second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin takes office as Postmaster General
