35,000 new housing units in Lahore: PM to perform groundbreaking ceremony on December 25

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Housing Mian Mahmood-ur-Rashid said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would perform the ground-breaking ceremony of 35,000 new housing units in Lahore on December 25. The minister revealed this while speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Monday. He said that the Punjab government is going to prepare a new master plan for Lahore to meet the requirements for the next 40 years.

Presently, the construction sector has become the most lucrative for investment. The Punjab government has made major changes in the rules and regulations of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to ease out the businesses. Previously approval from various authorities for launching a new housing scheme was the biggest problem that has now been resolved as all no-objection certificates can be obtained under one roof at the LDA office. The authority is bound to give approval for a housing plan within 60 days.

The minister said that financing for construction of houses was also a major challenge and banks were not ready to finance these projects. Now the State Bank of Pakistan has restricted the banks to allocate 5 percent of their borrowing for housing sector.

He further added that new housing policy has been formulated in consultation with the builders and private sectors. There was no rule for sub-division of commercial properties but now law has been amended. Mian Mahmood-ur-Rashid said that constructors are being encouraged towards apartment buildings that would not only help overcome shortage of land but would also divide the cost of land and people would be able to have their own apartment at low cost. These projects are being developed on the government's land, he said.

The minister said that Ravi Riverfront Urban Development (RRUD) project is at the planning phase and it would be ensured that no industrial unit or residential area is harmed unduly. He said a project for construction of 50 houses near every village in about eight districts of the province is well on the way which would be given to the homeless people on easy installments.

He said that the government cannot cope with the challenges alone and support of the private sector is a must to achieve the targets of 5 million houses, he said. LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah said that the financial institutions' support is quite essential for the success of housing sector. The housing finance is even less than 1 percent of the GDP as compared to 10 percent in the regional countries. The inclusion of private sector in the housing and construction sectors would help flourish trade and economic activities.

LCCI Senior Vice President Nasir Hameed Khan and Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry said that reservations of the business community on RRUD project should be removed as reportedly, at the planning stage of this project, the industrial units located in and around this area are being marked. They urged the government to ensure safety measures in high rise buildings and departments should be equipped with the latest technology.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020