Speaking during the a Shura Council session, he said that Bahrain was not facing any financial or land difficulties and its 'smart' homes plan would help speed up work.

He said the ministry's only challenge was how to move 45,000 families on its waiting lists into homes in the fastest way possible.

"The current homes construction system takes between 12 and 18 months, while prefabricated homes will certainly ensure a far less period, since it just involves compiling," he said.

"We have a problem and that's the mounting applications over a period of 17 years. But it will not be a problem now as we have no land or financial shortage and now with new technology things are set to go smoothly."

Shaikh Ibrahim revealed last month that a centre would soon be created to steer contractors towards using "smart" technology to build affordable homes.

He said that smart homes can be built more quickly, are insulated to keep heat in or out and therefore are environment-friendly as they do not require traditional building materials.

He was responding to a question by Council Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee Vice-Chairman Sayed Habib Hashim on the ministry's plan to help clear its waiting lists.

Mr. Hashim said that his village, Malkiya, and others nearby had been waiting for 40 years for a housing project, while others already had theirs despite a shorter wait.

He said that the ministry acknowledged that there was a long wait, but it never indicated what detailed plans it had or the projects it was planning to do to solve the housing problem.

"We have a project earmarked for Malkiya and one for the surrounding villages that would have 540 homes built," said Shaikh Ibrahim.

"There are 695 applications for Malkiya and surrounding villages and I assure you the project will be started within two years over 22.8 hectares of land, which has been recently bought for BD12.3 million."