‘PM to inaugurate construction project of 4,000 apartments this week’

LAHORE: Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Vice-Chairman S M Imran has said the prime minister would inaugurate the the LDA project of building d 4,000 apartments near Halloki this week to provide affordable homes to the people with meagre resources under an easy installment plan.

Talking to journalists here on Sunday, he said the 4,000 apartments were the first brick in the edifice of 5 million homes under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan Housing Project on 8,500 kanals land near Halloki.

Elaborating on the 4000 apartments project of the LDA, SM Imran said the project was meant to provide a home to a common man and it would cost very less, adding that the LDA had called for tenders. The LDA vice-chairman said the joint venture of LDA and Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) would be funded by the banks as per the State Bank of Pakistan policy on Islamic banking, adding that the installment plan would be spreading over 10-20 years.

To a question, he said an apartment would cost approximately Rs 2.7 million and the allottee would have to pay mere Rs 270,000 initially but Rs 300,000 subsidy from the NAPHDA would make the initial payment Rs 570,000.

“The installment will start after the owner is given possession of the apartment which means the allottee will not pay anything during the first 18 months of construction work”, he elaborated. He said preference would be given to the applicants who applied with NAPHDA for homes some months ago, adding that small installments would enable people own a home of their own instead of living on rent and making the landlords richer every month.

“A 650 square feet apartment will have 2 rooms with an attached and a detached bathroom, kitchen, small lounge and a balcony while the master plan will ensure that an apartment building has its own park, walkways, sewerage, treatment plants and grid-stations to meet all features of a modern community”, he elaborated.

To ensure transparency and avoid political victimisation of the project, the LDA vice-chairman said, the LDA had decided to open an escrow account for the project, adding that escrow account was opened for a specific purpose and its funds cannot be used for any other purpose.

SM Imran told that a quota had been fixed for journalists and lawyers besides the government employees, adding that main share in apartments would be of the public at large. He said the 4,000 apartments would lay the foundation of many other such projects to follow, adding that the government was committed to providing the masses with homes of their own.