ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said the construction of five million houses will kick-start from Gwadar to benefit the poor fishermen and later commence in Peshawar and other parts of the country to provide affordable housing units to the low income segments of the society.

The prime minister was speaking as chief guest at the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Government of Pakistan, United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and Sustainable Housing Solutions (SHS), for Naya Pakistan Housing Programme.

The MoU signed by UNOPS, Sustainable Housing Solutions (SHS) and the Government of Pakistan to build 500,000 new homes is part of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s plans to build five million housing units in the country.

The prime minister said under his government’s flagship Naya Pakistan Housing Programme, the people, especially the salaried class with no financial resources, will be able to own their houses at affordable rates on easy installments. He said efforts are afoot to minimise the mark-up rates. He said taking new initiatives by the government has always been difficult, especially when the country has been facing financial issues, and expressed the confidence to deliver upon his promise of providing five million affordable houses to the people within five years.

The prime mister termed the financial and technical assistance from the UNOPS and SHS as a landmark event to accelerate the wheels of economy by overcoming the shortage of housing units in the country, besides creating job opportunities. He noted that the government is making efforts to bring about an economic turnaround, which suffered due to loot and plunder during the last decade. He said the agreement with the UNOPS and the SHS will enable the government to kick-start its most ambitious project on large scale with construction of half a million houses.

The prime minister noted that UNOPS will utilize the local labour and material, which will directly benefit 40 industries of the country allied with the construction sector. He said the accomplishment of housing units with the assistance of UNOPS and SHS will bolster the economy, bring expertise in the construction sector, besides encouraging the educated youth, new small and big companies, and entrepreneurs to enter the sector. The administrative and legislative issues are being overcome and to facilitate the investors and construction companies, one window operation has been launched by the Naya Pakistan Housing Authority, he added.The prime minister also appealed to the Lahore High Court chief justice to immediately fix the case regarding foreclosure laws pending since long. He observed that an early decision over the issue will enable the banking sector to extend loaning facilities and easing the mortgage process.