Housing finance: Banks likely to start introducing products by next week: NAPHDA

KARACHI: Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) Lt Gen Anwar Ali Hyder (Retd) on Friday said banks would hopefully start introducing their products for housing finance by next week.

Addressing a seminar on "Opportunities in Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme" organised by Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) at ABAD House via video link, he said that the federal government took four major steps to boost the construction industry for providing low cost houses and employment opportunities to masses.

Describing the details, chairman NAPHDA said that four major steps for Naya Pakistan housing scheme included fixed tax regime for builders and developers, 90 percent tax relief, incentives to private banks for financing Naya Pakistan Housing scheme and hoped that banks would start financing from next week.

He said that banks were facing problems with providing house financing on low interest rates but the government took drastic step to provide house financing on 5 to 7 percent interest rates for which banks would get a number of incentives.

In his welcome address, chairman ABAD Mohsin Sheikhani said that Pakistan was facing over 12 million houses shortage and ABAD was working on affordable housing for the last seven years.

He said that ABAD provided all information about low cost housing schemes to Prime Minister Imran Khan, which was later inducted in PTI's election manifesto and added that PM was now taking serious steps to fulfil his promise of providing 5 million low cost houses.

He apprised that Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah during a recent meeting promised to provide land for low cost housing in Sindh like Punjab and KPK and also gave assurance to grant project approvals within fifteen days.

Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing Task Force Ziagham Rizvi said that Prime Minister, after taking in-depth briefing of more than 70 allied industries of construction industry had firmly decided to boost construction industry as this was the only industry which has potential of providing houses to people and a large number of jobs to skilled and unskilled workforce.

He said that Pakistan's banks have provided only 106 billion housing loans during the last 70 years which is 0.23 percent of GDP and added that the government has chalked out a 10-year housing plan.

Former Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi said that construction of low cost houses could not be possible without financing at low interest rates and suggested the chairman NAPHDA to issue housing bond like Wapda bond in order to build confidence among financial institutions for the project.

Moreover, he also urged the government to facilitate the builders and developers in land and financing to make Naya Pakistan Housing schemes a success.

Director General KDA Asif Ikram said that KDA was keen for joint ventures with builders and developers for low cost housing schemes and added that they were poised to ensure maximum facilitation in this regard.

Head of Islamic Finance HBL Salimullah Shaikh and General Manager Meezan Bank said that banks are ready to provide 80 percent financing for low cost housing schemes at low interest rates.

Similarly, DG SBCA Ashkar Dawar said that approvals of some 158 cases had been pending for years due to technical reasons and urged the builders and developers to follow the procedures to get approvals for their projects. He assured to provide approvals of building plans within 10 days if all required NOCs were provided.

Senior Vice Chairman ABAD Sohail Warind, Vice Chairman Abdul Rehman, Chairman Southern Region Ali Muhammad Ratadia, former chairmen ABAD Hanif Gohar, Arif Jeewa, Hassan Bakshi and a large number of ABAD members attended the seminar.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020