Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Wednesday provided its approval to the issuance of funds worth PKR 23.6 billion for subsidised housing loans intended to facilitate the country’s low and medium-income groups in a bid to provide affordable housing, a news source reported.
The committee further sanctioned a supplementary grant of PKR 4.7 billion to share the cost of interest with the housing borrowers. The committee also approved a 20-year loan repayment tenure for the construction of 3-, 5- and 10-marla homes, while the approved subsidy plan spans 10 years.
Similarly, funds worth PKR 23.6 billion in subsidy have been approved against 10-year’s financing needs at the current Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (Kibor) of 6.89%. In case the State Bank increases the subsidy, the amount of subsidy will also be increased.
Out of the PKR 23.6 billion subsidy, PKR 7.4 billion will be provided for projects under the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority for homes up to 5 marlas. PKR 10.5 billion will be allocated for 5-marla homes in projects executed by non-housing authority, while the remaining PKR 5.8 billion is for 10-marla projects by non-housing authority.
According to the subsidised mark-up rates, on housing units up to 5 marlas, the mark-up will be 5% for the first five years and 7% for the remaining five years of the subsidised rates. In case of housing units up to 10 marlas, the mark-up will be 7% for the first five years and 9% for the next five years.
For 3-marla homes, the borrower will be able obtain a loan of up to PKR 2.7 million against the maximum cost of PKR 3.5 million. In case of 5-marla homes, the maximum loan will be PKR 3 million. In case of 10-marla homes, it will be PKR 5 million.
The tenure of the loans can be up to 20 years but the government will not share mark-up cost after 10 years. In case of 5-marla homes, the government will pick 4.4% in interest cost for the first five years and 2.4% during the next five years.
