Dubai's co eyes to invest $1.2b in housing sector

ISLAMABAD (APP) - Caretaker Minister for Housing and Works Nisar Mohammad Khan Thursday said that a Dubai-based company will invest US dollar 1.2 billion in the country’s housing sector to address acute housing shortage.
“For the first time in the Ministry’s history such huge foreign investment will come in the housing sector in Pakistan,” he said in an interview with APP here.
The Minister said he has requested Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro to hand over Capital Development Authority under the Ministry for Housing and Works so that problems in purchase of land could be removed.
“If CDA was given under the command of the Ministry, housing problems of federal government employees and commonman would be resolved to a great extent,” the minister said.
He said a proposal has also been forwarded to Prime Minister to start one window operation in the Ministry to facilitate foreign investors.
He said that public-private partnership in overcoming the housing shortage was need of the hour as private and informal sector play a vital role in house construction.
The Minister said the time has come that government should play the role of a facilitator and encourage the private sector and foreign investors in the housing sector.
To a question about non-implementation of national housing policies prepared in 1992 and 2001, Nisar Khan said that non-implementation complicated the situation in the country.
To a question about launching of new housing sectors in the federal capital, he said unfortunately this should have been done as top priority and upto the required level.
About G-6 issue, Nisar Khan said that if ownership rights were given to the dwellers of the sector, then the same rights should be given to government employees of other sectors. The ministry is already short of housing units as there are only 22,000 houses for about 80,0000 federal government employees in Islamabad, he added.
The Minister said after assuming charge of Minister he took keen interest in streamlining the affairs in Estate Office and appointed a judge as Estate Officer to resolve issues. He added that now all allotments were being made according to the waiting list.
Nisar Khan said the main hurdle in initiating new housing scheme was scarcity of land, particularly in and around urban centres. Time has come to start vertical construction instead of horizental in the federal capital.
He said that land value continues to increase with unchecked tendencies of speculation resulting in virtual non-availability of affordable land especially for low income groups.
The Ministry of Housing and Works in its advisory committee meeting has asked the federal and provincial governments to purchase cheap land in the outskirts of cities for constructing low-cost housing, he said.
The country’s annual additional requirement is estimated at around 5,70,000 housing units whereas the actual annual production stands at around 3,00,000 housing units resulting in a recurring backlog of 2,70,000 housing units annually, Nisar Khan said.
He said that 5,00,000 housing units should be built per annum to meet the growing needs and to also clear the backlog.