Balloting for the first 1,008 flats and 500 houses built under the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme
Prime Minister Imran Khan conducted an open ballot for allotting 1,008 flats and 500 houses for poor workers and widows on the low-cost mortgage.
Balloting took place at the site of affordable residences constructed in the suburbs of Islamabad, under the Naya Pakistan Housing Project carried out by Workers Welfare Fund and Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.
The location is located at a short distance from the federal capital. The newly constructed residences have all the basic utilities available. A subsidy of 300,000 rupees was provided for each residential unit under the Workers Welfare Fund and the Naya Pakistan Housing. Once completed, the total area of the project will be over 2,500 canals.
Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan said the project was in line with the vision of facilitating the lower income group that faces financial hardships, particularly in the urban areas of the country.
“Naya Pakistan is in fact a vision of empowering weaker segments of the society through economic emancipation and provision of basic necessities of life,” he said.
Special terms for the housing program
The cost of an apartment is a little over 2.4 million rupees while a single house costs a shade over 2.65 million rupees. With the aforementioned subsidy, the price of each kind of housing unit will drop by 0.3 million rupees. The mortgages will also be provided at below-market rates. For the first five years, the annual rate will stay at 3% while it will slightly increase to 5% for the next five years.
The banks will provide total financing of 378 billion rupees for the construction and mortgage purposes of these projects until December of this year. The government is also giving huge tax benefits on the construction of these houses with 90% of the usual taxes waived off.
This is a fantastic step that can help many underprivileged people enjoy a peaceful life. While the government initially said it aimed for millions of residential units, it may eventually be able to reach a few hundred thousand. Even that number is staggering considering this is the first of its kind project in the country.