(Karachi) Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that people from the lower-income class could now own their houses by paying installments to banks.

Addressing a groundbreaking ceremony of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) City Naya Pakistan Apartments on Friday, Imran praised the courts for allowing the government to implement the foreclosure law.

He said that the law now allows people to own houses on the mortgage. "People will only pay installments instead of rent and will become owners of their own homes," Imran said.

He stated that the status quo has adopted a system of bribery and did not want the country to change for the better. "Pakistan will have to transform itself if it needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century," he remarked.

The premier appreciated the efforts of LDA, saying: "The LDA has brought about a lot of improvements in itself."

The LDA will construct 35,000 apartments in different parts of the metropolis under the LDA City Naya Pakistan project.

Under the scheme, 4,000 apartments will be constructed during the first phase. Every apartment will cover a 650 square feet area, having two bedrooms.

The LDA had a fixed price of Rs2.7million for every apartment which will be taken in easy installments.

Earlier, Punjab Minister for Housing and Urban Development Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed said that the Punjab government has assigned all development authorities in Lahore and other big cities of the province to build housing units for the low-income people.

The provincial minister said these plans are being replicated in Gujranwala, Multan, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi to provide homes to the low-income population of the country, as per Prime Minister Imran Khan's vision.