INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched the low cost finance scheme for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government's flagship
project of constructing five million housing units in the country.Addressing the launch ceremony here, the prime minister said besides
addressing housing issues at affordable cost, the project would be a force multiplier giving momentum to economic activities through the
creation of jobs and boosting 40 allied industries.He said a huge population of Pakistan was cash starved and could much afford to build
houses, that why the government was going to finance them for the purpose.Imran Khan said the present government had different intellectset
from the past regimes as it was focusing on poverty alleviation like China, which had lifted measure 700 million people rural areas out of
poverty with planning.The low cost housing project was a component of the PTI government's planning for poverty alleviation, he added.The
prime minister appreciated State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa for launching the financing facility for low cost housing project at
low interest rate, besides providing cash loan facility to small growers and small and medium enterprises (SME) sector.The SMEs were the
spine of economy and with the cash loans, they would much only boost but also supply jobs to the people, he added.He said the housing
financing facility in Pakistan was just 0.2 percent while it was 10 percent in India, 30 percent in Malaysia and 80 percent in the United
Kingdom and the United States.The prime Minister also appreciated the steps to include the people of erstwhile Fedemass meeting Administered
Tribal Areas - who had suffered a lot due to war on terrorismism - transgenders and under-privileged segments of the society in the
scheme.Imran Khan said a social welfare state of Pakistan was the great dream of the forefathers, but unluckyly the present day Pakistan had
become a country of the powerful and elites.The PTI government was developing Pakistan on the sample which had been dreamt by the
forefathers, he added.The prime minister also announced to bring an ambitious programme for the slums, for which the private sector
developers would be encouraged to build flats with all facilities.The flats would be allotted to the slum dwellers on ownership basis, he
added.He said efforts were being made to check spreading cities, which were engulfing cultivated land and creating climate issues.The
construction of high-rise buildings would be encouraged to protect green areas and Islamabad would be made a model city with vertical
buildings, he added.Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Asad Umar said it was in the PTI's manifesto to supply all possible
facilities to the downtrodden segments of the society.He said presently Pakistan had a backlog of 10 million housing units and bank
financing was a must to achieve the target of constructing five million low cost houses."It is our constitutional responsibility to supply
ceiling to the people," he added.Asad Umar said housing schemes for the federal government employees would also be launched in 12
cities.Highlighting salient features of the low cost housing finance scheme, the SBP Governor said the central bank had prioritized three
sectors, including agriculture, SMEs and low cost housing project, for bank landing.He said a housing unit costing less than Rs 3 million
would be funded under the scheme.The banks would supply loan up to Rs 2.7 million under the scheme.The banks and other financial
institutions were being incentivized to extend loans for the scheme, he added.Tariq Bajwa said special segments, including widows, orphans,
transgenders, martyrs and people living in war against terrorism hit areas would be given precedence under the scheme, which would be
available for the construction of new houses.The new housing units could neither be rented out nor sold, he added.He said the low cost
financing would be made available for 100,000 housing units at the mark-up rate of 5 percent for 12.5 years.TheIndianSubcontinent has not
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