ULAN BATOR, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian government has decided to increase the value of mortgages it issues by 200 billion Mongolian tugriks (76 million U.S. dollars) to 500 billion Mongolian tugriks, said Minister of Construction and Urban Development Khavdislam Badyelkhan on Wednesday.

"The government made the decision to help more people have access to houses ... in Ulan Bator. There are many people who want to apply for mortgages," Badyelkhan said at a press conference.

Currently, tens of thousands of residents in the shantytowns of the capital Ulan Bator and the country's 21 provinces want mortgages, the minister said.

In the first 10 months of the year, a total of 237 billion Mongolian tugriks (90 million dollars) in mortgages have been granted to about 3,600 borrowers, according to the Bank of Mongolia.