The increase in overall building costs, which has resulted in project delays, appears to be a serious hurdle for the program’s goal of providing 50 lakh dwelling units for the country’s poor and needy.
AH REAL ESTATE MARKETING has started several projects in Lahore, Islamabad, and Sargodha to create housing units and flats for the poor and needy. NAPHDA, on the other hand, has yet to lay a single brick, according to The News.
When challenged about the CDA’s position, the spokesperson said NAPHDA was just paying subsidies to various government agencies such as the CDA in Islamabad and the LDA in Lahore, as well as independent welfare foundations such as Akhuwat and Workers Welfare Fund (WWF).
Asim said that NAPHDA had completed 20,000 housing units across Pakistan, with another 45,000 still in the works. Those dwelling units, he claimed, were developed in conjunction with the Akhuwat Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund.
When contacted by The News, an Akhuwat official stated that the Foundation was solely responsible for the construction of dwellings for the underprivileged, with no cooperation from NAPHDA. He stated that NAPHDA may be working on something, but that nothing had been finalized as of yet.
According to a senior Islamabad administrative official, the government, not NAPHDA, is responsible for all work in Farash Town. When queried about NAPHDA’s claim of subsidizing the development of flats and apartments in Farash Town, the official stated that not a single subsidy had been provided by NAPHDA. NAPHDA did not provide any funds or relief, according to the official.
When asked about the Islamabad administration and the Akhuwat Foundation’s responses, Asim Shoukat stated that NAPHDA was just functioning as an umbrella organization that oversaw all of the projects. He went on to say that they were solely in charge of providing clients to the builders and identifying the most deserving (poor individuals) to be given housing units.
NAPHDA projects in Sargodha (flats) and Lahore (CD City Apartments) have been on the market for about a year. The two projects’ inaugural ceremonies were attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Following inquiries, The News learned from several sources that not a single brick had been laid in any of the above-mentioned areas for the construction of those units.
Asim Shoukat stated that the State Bank of Pakistan had loaned approximately Rs80 billion to the Naya Pakistan Housing Society & Development Scheme and for poor subsidies.
The News visited several enterprises and builders to obtain a sense of how much building material prices had risen during the PTI government’s tenure, which began in 2018 and ended in 2019. The price of construction materials climbed by more than 40% during these years, according to the rates of basics needed for house construction. Cement cost roughly Rs480 per 50kg bag in 2018-19 but has now risen to Rs710 per bag.
The cost of brick has increased from Rs12 to Rs18. The steel stainless grill was originally priced at Rs600 per foot but is now available for Rs1,100. In addition, the cost of labor had risen by 40%. Similarly, the cost of barring (sarya) has increased from Rs90,000 per tons in 2018-2019 to Rs180,000 per tons in 2019-2020.
