Adviser stresses incentives to attract investment in realty sector

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Abdul Hafiz Sheikh, on Monday emphasised on the need to incentivise the real estate sector as it can attract investment from Pakistani diaspora living abroad.

The adviser said this while chairing a meeting held at the Finance Division to analyse the different financial models for “Naya Pakistan Economic Zone alongside Islamabad Expressway”. “The government supports the development of the housing sector as it had the potential of providing employment opportunities to the youth,” Shaikh said.

Shaikh also assured the concerned authorities of all possible assistance for any financial plan that was prepared keeping in view the requirements of all the relevant laws of the country. Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing Authority (NPHA), Lt Gen (retd) Ameer Ali Haider, briefed the meeting on the overall details of the project.

“The project will be completed in 3-4 phases starting from Faizabad and ending near Rawat,” the chairman said. Haider said the Frontier Works Organisation was working with NPHA on the feasibility of the project and the idea is to complete the first phase in a year’s time under the public private partnership mode.

He further said different financial models were looked into for the completion of the project in consultation with State Bank of Pakistan and Federal Board of Revenue. Following the briefing, the finance adviser directed the concerned authorities to hold another meeting with all the relevant stakeholders in the current week for analysing any financial plans prepared by NPHA for this project.

In April this year the federal cabinet had approved construction of 1,35,000 apartments under Naya Pakistan Housing Programme. Under the scheme 25,000 apartments would be built in Islamabad for federal government employees, while 110,000 apartments would be constructed in Balochistan.

Last month Prime Minister Imran Khan in a statement said the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme was a significant project for meeting the housing requirements in the country. “The scheme, on one hand, will help overcome the shortage of residential units in the country and on the other it will help bolster the economy by accelerating the economic process,” Khan said, adding the government would fully facilitate all the foreign/local investors in the programme.