AMMAN, 13 December 2007 (IRIN) - The Jordanian government will next year build concrete housing units for 500 Palestinian refugee families living in tin shacks, at an estimated cost of US$5 million, according to the director of the Department of Palestinian Affairs, Wajih Azaizeh.

There are 13 Palestinian refugee camps scattered around the capital, Amman, and in other cities such as Zarqa, Irbid, Jerash and Madaba.

"The construction of concrete houses will help thousands of refugees have decent accommodation and put an end to years of suffering," said Azaizeh on 11 December.

Refugees living in the shacks are mainly widows and the elderly who rely on welfare provided either by the Jordanian government or the UN Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA). Those benefiting from the project will get a one-room housing unit, which includes a small kitchen and a bathroom.

With the completion of the project, by the end of 2008, about 1,500 tin shacks will remain in all refugee camps, said Azaizeh.

Palestinian refugees often complain of being overlooked in development projects carried out either by the government or UNRWA.

Baqaa camp

In the squalid Baqaa camp, 30km west Amman, the flimsy houses and narrow unpaved streets reflect six decades of deprivation in most of the camp. Residents say UNRWA-run schools and clinics are overcrowded, streets are unpaved and the underground sewage and water supply network faces an uncertain future.

The asbestos-made walls of the corrugated iron-roofed shacks have disintegrated under extreme weather conditions.

At least 500 more houses will either be rebuilt or renovated in 2008 at a cost of 1.2 million euros, thanks to European Union funding, said Azaizeh.

According to government figures, Jordan is home to nearly 1.8 million refugees, 400,000 of whom live in the 13 refugee camps that are officially recognized by UNRWA.

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