‘Government committed to provide housing to common man’

Islamabad : Bringing the real estate builders, developers, architects and agents under one roof, the two-day Capital Smart City Expo opened at the Pakistan-China Friendship Centre here on Saturday.

The Jang Media Group partnered with the event organiser, Capital Smart City Islamabad, which claims that its objective is to develop the country’s first smart city and a model for sustainable development.

Special assistant to the prime minister on information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan inaugurated the expo and said the government was committed to the development of housing sector in the country.

She said the economic reforms and business-friendly policies introduced by the government would help the housing sector attract $10 billion investment in the next decade.

“We’re committed to providing conducive environment to businesspersons, including overseas Pakistanis, and protecting their investment in the country and are making all-out efforts to attract investments in all sectors, especially from around the world,” she said.

Dr Firdous said the Naya Pakistan, which the ruling PTI was striving to build, would have the ease of doing business and the protection of investment.

She said the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme meant to ensure the people’s access to housing and expand the housing sector would create millions of jobs as 40 industries were allied with construction.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to providing the common man with own dwelling and the launch of the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme is meant for it,” she said.

The minister said she was hopeful that overseas Pakistanis, who were a national asset, would play a vital role for the economic stability of the country through large-scale investment in various sectors.

She said without the women’s support, no country could achieve economic stability, so the government launched the Hunermand Pakistan Programme for helping women find better employment opportunities for own and national development.

Jang Group general manager (marketing) Mujeeb Ahmad said the expo had over 80 stalls put up by the companies known for offering housing solutions in terms of construction, tools and smart products, as well as realtors, architects and allied industries, where sales representatives briefed visitors about their previous, current and future projects, and the packages suiting their needs and pocket.

He said the expo had interactive sessions, B2B (business-to-business) meetings, networking sessions, and stalls of business groups and investors besides an artisan gallery, a children’s play area and a food court.

“The event is meant to promote the idea of smart home construction and it has provided a good opportunity to the housing companies and investors operating nationally and internationally to sell their services and products,” he said.

According to Capital Smart City chief commercial officer Imran Zahid, his housing project being executed near the New Islamabad International Airport is meant to put up a smart city with a focus on luxury living and contribution to economy.

He said the concept of the smart city revolved around a comprehensive urban management model that promoted efficiency and control on one hand and inclusion and participation on the other and that it leveraged and harnessed modern technology to enable cities to function more reliably with sustainability for all residents.

The people, mostly salaried ones, interested in developing own houses, showed up in large numbers and declared the event beneficial. They said more and more such events should take place to benefit the common man. Popular singer Sahir Ali Bagga later performed to the entertainment of visitors.