Spokesman Report

ISLAMABAD:Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed completion of ongoing federal government’s low-cost housing projects expeditiously, besides asking for collaboration with the private sector to boost investment in the housing projects.

The prime minister also instructed ensuring a third-party validation of construction in the federal government housing projects.

The prime minister chaired a review meeting of the ongoing projects in the Ministry of Housing. Federal Ministers Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Ahsan Iqbal, Attaullah Tarar and other senior officials attended the meeting, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

The ministry of housing informed the prime minister about the progress on the ongoing reforms and policy measures in its various departments.

It was informed that consultations with all the stakeholders for amendments in the National Housing Policy 2001 had been completed and the process for its final approval would be completed by March 2025 as per the prime minister’s instruction.

The meeting was further apprised that the system for allocating houses to the government employees and grant of rents had been digitized, which would help eliminate corruption and bring transparency in the system.

The prime minister was also apprised of the ongoing and future projects under the Pakistan Housing Authority.

The meeting was told that work was progressing rapidly on 630 low-cost residential units in Kuchlak, Quetta and 4,112 residential units in Islamabad.

The prime minister directed for prompt completion of these projects and third-party validation.

It was further informed that work on 5,728 low-cost residential units in Peshawar would begin soon while work on 5,600 residential units in Rawalpindi and Islamabad would kickstart in the near future.

The prime minister directed seeking of services from the reputable construction companies for all these residential projects.

He said renowned international construction companies should be selected for projects for government employees and the public.

The prime minister said selection process of the construction companies should be conducted through a transparent process and on merit, adding these projects should be completed within the stipulated time frame.

The prime minister was given a detailed briefing on the affairs of the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority.

The meeting was briefed on the digitization and reforms of the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority, online payments, digital systems for complaint resolution, one-window operations, real-time monitoring, geo-tagging, and other reforms which were being implemented to enhance transparency and efficiency in the system.