Work on PM’s housing scheme to start soon, Senate body told

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works on Tuesday said the government had identified sites in Islamabad and Quetta for the construction of houses under Naya Pakistan Housing project and formal work would start there soon.

Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema informed this to the committee which met here under the chairmanship of Senator Mir Kabeer Ahmed Muhammad Shahi.

Read: PM launches ‘Naya Pakistan Housing Project’

The committee was told that the investors would only be responsible for constructing the housing units and allotment would be done by NADRA.

Minister for Housing said that the housing units were a low cost project and it had never been called a free housing project.

It was told that 91 Expressions of Interests had been initially received for one million houses under PM’s programme for construction of total of five million housing units and government would ensure transparency at all stages of the project.

Chairman Task Force on Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme Zaigham Mahmood Rizvi said it was essential to meet housing needs in Pakistan. He said Pakistan was in need to have 10.2 million houses. He said the Punjab government would remove the disparity in housing units in rural and urban areas. “The government will begin this programme from three cities.”

The programme will be mutually run by private sector and the provincial government. He added that the task force had also been formed.

He said model villages will be constructed in 25,000 villages of Punjab. He said donations would also be given to low-income people so they could be facilitated in the housing scheme.

He said laws were also being enacted for investors.

Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema said the project would be initiated by the end of March or start of April. The Senate body chief also asked about land acquisition and its financing.