Islamabad: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz on Wednesday briefed the cabinet regarding measures introduced so far for the country’s construction industry, a news source reported.
He revealed that banks have allocated PKR 378 billion – about 5% of their collective loan portfolio – for low-cost housing. He further shared the government’s plans to facilitate people seeking affordable homes solutions. He stated that the government will not build new homes but will facilitate the provision of affordable housing to low-income groups.
The minister also enumerated various steps taken by the government to speed up the documentation process for construction. He noted that documentation is another hurdle in the construction process.
He said that the government has introduced a mechanism to reduce the time frame for issuing approvals and NOCs, setting a period of 30-90 days for this purpose.
In terms of directly facilitating the public for low-cost housing, the loans for 5-marla homes have mark-up rate as low as 5% for the first five years. The government has also successfully managed to reduce the cost of 5-marla low-cost homes to PKR 3.5 million – including the cost of land.
Moreover, the government has also cleared foreclosure law from the courts which was a major hurdle in the way of mortgage financing in the country. The government is also working on two major city projects including Bundle Island and Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project.
Nearly 100,000 housing units are under construction under several government projects. The ministry of housing has reactivated 11 of its pending projects under which 35,725 units will be constructed at a cost of PKR 140 billion. These reactivated projects will be completed by June 2021. Another six project with a total of 21,377 units are already being constructed at a cost of PKR 210 million. 14 additional projects that are being started comprising of 54,061 units which will be constructed at a cost of PKR 272 billion.
Other projects comprising 153,646 units and 229,295 units (to be developed at a cost of PKR 657 billion and PKR 830 billion, respectively) will reach completion by December 2021.
