The federal government has been giving incentives to private banks to finance the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme, under which PM Imran Khan has promised cheap houses for the poor.

The financing is expected to start from next week, it was revealed by Lt Gen (retd) Anwar Ali Hyder, the chairperson of the Naya Pakistan Housing & Development Authority, in a seminar on ‘Opportunities of Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme’.

The seminar, held at the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) office in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, was chaired by ABAD Chairman Mohsin Sheikhani.

Shabbar Zaidi, the former chairperson of the Federal Board of Revenue, said that proper financing is imperative for the execution of mass housing projects. The government should provide subsidy to the general public on a 4% interest rate-which is affordable to the middle and lower-middle classes.

Middle and lower-middle classes buyers do not have the finances to buy the asset and government subsidy enables them to get their own asset. The government should provide free of cost land for the execution of low-cost housing schemes, Zaidi said, adding the government has plenty of vacant land in Karachi.

The authority chairperson, who attended the seminar via video link, said that the government has two main targets: providing mass and affordable housing to the general public and incentivising the construction industry.

News Network International