ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said new master plans of all big cities of Pakistan will be prepared to prevent unplanned spread of urbanization and to protect agri land.

In a televised briefing in Islamabad this afternoon, he said unplanned spread of cities can create food security problems for Pakistan in future if this practice is continued unabated.

The Prime Minister said economic activities of around 1,500 billion rupees will be started in Punjab only and will generate around 250,000 jobs as a result of massive package announced by the government for the construction sector. He said so far 186 construction projects have been registered on the FBR portal, while work on projects worth 163 billion rupees has already begun.

Imran Khan said banks have reserved 378 billion rupees for December 2021 to support the construction sector. He said a subsidy of 30 billion rupees will be provided to low income people enabling them to get their own house under affordable housing scheme. He said that loan subsidy at the interest rate of five and seven percent respectively will be available on houses of five Marla and above. He said a grant of 300,000 rupees will be given to first 100,000 houses.

He said an automated approval regime has been introduced in the federal capital, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for speedy approval to start a housing project.

He said land digitization in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad will be completed by August next year. Besides, record of state land in these cities is also being completed on priority basis.

The Prime Minister said the government will fully back the construction sector and encourage wealth creation so that we can generate jobs for our youth and payback our debt. He said it is a good sign that record sale of cement and steel has been witnessed, which shows boom in the construction sector.