ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that over 70,000 housing projects worth Rs 1.4 trillion have been approved which will have an overall impact of Rs 7.3 trillion on the construction industry and 1.2 million jobs will be created.
While chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Housing, Construction and Development in Islamabad, the prime minister said that it is the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government’s huge achievement that out of the total 80,000 applications, 35,420 applications amounting to Rs 130 billion have been approved.
A total of Rs 46 billion has been disbursed to 13,407 applicants so far.
The prime minister added that applications worth Rs 7 billion are being received weekly out of which Rs 4 billion are approved and Rs 2 billion is being disbursed every week which shows that the devised system is working efficiently.
Imran Khan said that the PTI’s government has achieved huge milestones regarding provision of low cost housing to lower and middle income class. He said that our government’s biggest challenge was to change the elitist mindset of financial institutions and ensure facilitation of common people in getting loans.
The meeting was briefed that for the very first time in the history of Pakistan, a sustainable ecosystem for Low Cost Housing has been developed and implemented which has enabled the sector to achieve exponential growth.
The Foreclosure Law has been implemented in letter and spirit and long term loans (up to 20 years) with subsidized markup (as low as only 2%) are being given.
In addition to that a cost subsidy of Rs 300,000 for low income housing schemes and 90% tax waiver has resulted in encouraging the private sector, which is actively participating in the construction of housing units under the schemes. The projects include urban, peri-urban, urban regeneration, government funded and private sector projects.
The meeting was also briefed about the transparent and automated process to receive and process the application which has resulted in targeting the needful lower and middle income class. This is being ensured by the development of one window digital portal with automated application tracking system by development authorities.
The meeting was also briefed on figures regarding the total low cost housing construction activity so far after 2018.
A total of 161,924 low cost housing units were approved, out of which 45,191 units are under construction and 20,898 units have been completed, which is significant bearing in mind that before the subsidies by the government, foreclosure law and low cost housing schemes by the PTI’s government, the sector was in shambles.
A breakup of the government financed low cost housing projects was also given according to which 4,000 units in Farash Town, 4,000 units in LDA City, 1,320 units in Jalozai, 245 units in Raiwind, 324 units in Sargodha and Chiniot and 1,800 units at Angoori road are being constructed with completion deadlines before the end of 2022.
The meeting was also told that a total of 2,507 projects worth Rs 627 billion have been registered on FBR Portal under the Fixed Tax Regime which have an impact of Rs 3.135 trillion on the economy.
Prime Minister Imran Khan directed to complete the projects in the defined timelines and emphasized to take steps to improve and ease the process for low cost housing projects.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Shaukat Fayyaz Tarin, Fawad Chaudhary, Minister for state Farrukh Habib, SAPM Dr. Shahbaz Gill, Governor State Bank, Chairman NAPHDA, Lt. Gen Anwar Ali Haider (Retd), CEO RUDA Imran Amin, Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Balochistan and concerned senior officials.
