Prime Minister Imran Khan has declared that the master plans for all major Pakistani cities, beginning with Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, will be revamped. PM Imran Khan also announced an extension until December 31, 2020 of the Fixed Tax Regime System for the construction industry, unveiled earlier this year. In addition, in a live stream session, he announced important measures to incentivize the construction package, including digitization of land records in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The PM said this had been a big demand from the industry which was why they were given an “extra year”. He said projects worth Rs186 billion have been registered under the incentives. Banks have vowed to allocate Rs378bn for construction activity till Dec 31. The subsidy for low-cost housing will remain in place until 2021. Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the topics mentioned below:

LOW-COST HOUSING SCHEME

The prime minister said the government has also created incentives for the salaried class for low-cost housing projects. The foreclosure law that was passed by the court is our first achievement in this respect. Banks are funding low-cost housing for the first time. In particular, banks have allocated Rs378 billion to the construction sector. He said the interest rate for a 5-marla house will be capped at 5 percent and 7 percent for a 10-marla house.

OTHER PROGRESS AREAS

The Prime Minister added that the government is working on master plans in the larger cities of the country under which sewerage and water supply issues will be addressed. Shedding light on other initiatives, the Prime Minister said the digitalization process for land-related data will be completed by August 2021 in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Progress in the construction sector has also contributed to an increase in cement, barrier and other associated equipment sales.

CORONAVIRUS STRATEGY

Looking back at what is called the “year of the pandemic” Prime Minister Imran Khan said that his government had built cautious plans to save the country from the economic crisis brought on by the lockdown of the coronavirus. The government saved the citizens from unemployment and starvation during the first wave of the pandemic, adding that the policy of implementing a “smart lockdown” turned out to be extremely beneficial for the world.