ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the development of the construction sector is the key to stability and growth of the national economy.
The prime minister said this while chairing the weekly meeting of the National Coordination Committee for Housing, Construction and Development.
He said that the government gives top priority to the development of the construction industry and the provision of facilities to investors, builders and developers. He directed all the chief secretaries to accelerate the process of approval of pending applications pertaining to the sector.
Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman apprised the prime minister on various developments in the construction sector including concessions given to the sector in the Federal Capital Territory, approvals granted for commercial and residential construction and new projects in Park Enclave-III and the Blue Area. He also briefed the prime minister regarding the progress in the auction of commercial plots and complete automation of CDA.
The prime minister was informed that the fee for floor area ratio has been reduced by 55 per cent and insurance and mortgage facilities have been simplified.
The CDA chairman further informed that since mid-June, 429 applications out of a total of 578 applications for residential and commercial projects have been approved while work on the rest is in progress.
Speaking on the occasion, the Punjab chief secretary said that since July, 2,129 applications have been received in Punjab out of which 1,285 have been approved while 844 are in the process of approval.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief secretary also informed that out of the 1,935 applications received in KP, 802 commercial, 332 residential and 64 housing societies have been approved while the rest are under consideration.
The Balochistan chief secretary said that the tax rates have been reduced in the province on a similar pattern as Punjab and work is underway to provide portals and one-window facilities for enterprises belonging to the construction sector.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz, Special Assistants Malik Amin Aslam, Asim Saleem Bajwa, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, Naya Pakistan Housing Authority Chairman Anwar Ali Haider and secretaries of relevant ministries were also present in the meeting.
