The Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Saud Foundation has launched construction of 300 housing units for the needy in southern Makkah bringing the number of units in the region to 480. Following the already completed 180 housing units, 200 new ones are now to be constructed in Al-Leeth plus a further 100 in villages of the region. Secretary General of the foundation Prince Faisal Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz said construction work at the Al-Leeth project – an area of 211,000 sq. meter with 311 sq. meter per unit – would cost around SR74 million. Prince Faisal said Crown Prince Sultan ordered the additional housing following his attendance at a Makkah Charitable Housing Project ceremony for the handing over of title deeds to 180 families. The Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Saud Foundation began its building program in 2000 and has so far constructed 1,551 residential units in Asir, Tabuk, Najran, Hail, Riyadh, Makkah and Madina.