A decrepit building in Cospicua is set to be turned into a housing project for NGOs who wish to offer specialised programmes.

Several unused properties around the island, including in Valletta, will be used for specialised housing projects, as part of a scheme unveiled by the housing secretariat on Wednesday.

€500,000 have been allocated for the project, Social Accommodation parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes said.

"We are promoting social mobility, which we have been talking about for years," Housing Authority chief Leonid McKay said.

NGOs will be selected after a call of applications issued on Wednesday. Winners will then be given a property, together with the necessary funds for its conversion, to offer special housing projects.

The scheme would ensure that housing would encourage people get the help they needed, Mr Galdes said. "We do not want to simply give people keys to vacant properties," he added.

Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers chair Rachael Scicluna said restoration would seek to be more inclusive. The Chamber was offering their help in restoring the run-down houses.

"We need an ideological change to keep the community in mind [when developing projects]," she said.