ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced his ambitious Naya Pakistan housing project will be launched by next month to cope with the acute housing shortage in the country as he acknowledged the difficulty of the endeavour.“Although the achievement of the ambitious target of constructing five million houses is difficult, the government is in process of establishing the required infrastructure before its launch,” the Prime Minister said, while addressing the ‘Pakistan housing Conference: Institutional Preparedness to implement New housing Strategy’ organised by the World Bank on Thursday.The event was also attended by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, housing Task Force Chairman Zaigham Rizvi, World Bank Country Director Illango Patchamuthu and international experts on housing and house financing.Prime Minister Khan said the government was formulating foreclosure laws in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan, as the country lacked mortgage facility for low-income group. After the launch, he said, the project would also face an incremental increase every year. He said the private sector would extend support to achieve this gigantic task and the government would merely act as facilitator.Khan told the audience that the growth of 40 industries was linked with the housing sector and added the government desired youngsters to establish businesses as part of the project. Under this scheme, he said, the poor would be provided with house financing that was “just a dream” in the past, as all the facilities like loans, English medium schools, hospitals and subsidies were enjoyed by the elite.The Premier said in case anyone would be unable to afford the house finance, the government would also get him sponsored as the people would be able to pour their money once their trust in government was revived.He said the slums in the federal capital lacked amenities, and instead of addressing the issue, the elite class built boundary walls around them to conceal the ill-planned inhabitation. He added the Naya Pakistan housing Programme included measures to regularise the slums and accommodate the inhabitants in new houses or condominium-styled buildings.The Prime Minister said the government had decided to allow maximum vertical buildings all around except within the landing and take-off zones of the airports, as the vertical constructions would help save arable land being “eaten up” by the massive growth of housing societies. He said the government had asked all the departments to submit details of their land bank and lamented the officers’ mindset of concealing the information because the land grabbers had been occupying the land with their connivance. He said the government had decided to initiate criminal cases against the officials involved in such wrongdoings.
03-30-2019, 08:51 AM
5m housing project to be launched next month: PM
العرض الشجري