The Sindh Building Control Authority has allowed the Association of Builders & Developers to build 19 projects under the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme. ABAD applied for approval of over 250 housing projects. The approvals have been submitted and registered by the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority, according to ABAD chairperson Fayyaz Ilyas. ABAD claims that it has completed documentation of at least 300 projects. The chairperson highlighted a number of reasons why there has been a delay in the approval process. First was the slow pace of the single-window facility launched by the SBCA last year. The facility hasn’t been functioning properly as the e-portal of all land-owing agencies has yet to be activated. The approval process, in theory, should take 45 days but it usually takes 90 days. The land-owing agencies often take long to verify the land status, Ilyas said. The housing projects should be completed by September 2022 given the Sindh departments expedite their pace, he added. ABAD has been working with the Naya Pakistan Housing Authority to turn PM Imran Khan’s vision of providing low-cost housing to people into a reality. The builders agreed to work with the government after the federal government gave the construction industry a stimulus package to mitigate the effects of coronavirus on the economy. This included tax waivers and no investigation into the construction industry investment. The package was, however, approved till the end of 2020. The ABAD chairperson said the deadline should be extended for at least another year. The federal government will provide land for the construction of low-cost housing schemes, the chairperson said. Along with these, houses will also be built on private land of some builders. He even named five areas where the housing projects will be constructed: Super Highway, National Highway, Northern Bypass, Surjani Town, and near Hawkesbay. However, there is a problem of infrastructure as these areas do not have a drainage system, he said. The federal government has planned to provide a 650 square feet residential unit at a cost of Rs3,000,000. The most expensive units will cost Rs6,000,000. Initially, the applicants will have to pay Rs300,000 and private banks will provide them a loan of Rs24,00,000. The federal government will provide them monetary assistance of Rs300,000 on each unit. The applicants will then have to pay a monthly installment as per the schedule given by the banks. The monthly-installment slabs range between Rs12,000 to Rs18,000. The Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme was announced by PM Imran Khan with an aim to build five million homes in five years. The federal cabinet approved an ordinance in April under which the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority was formed to oversee the development of these housing schemes. In October, the Sindh Building Control Authority formed two cells, One Window Cell-I and Cell-II, to give construction permits to Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme projects in Karachi within 30 days.
