ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said on Thursday, that Pakistani banks do not sanction loans to humble people without power.
He was addressing at the groundbreaking ceremony for Farash Town apartments, a housing project under the Naya Pakistan Housing scheme, in Islamabad on Thursday.
According to PM Khan, Pakistani banks are not in the practice of lending to individuals with no clout.
Within the next two years, the apartments should be finished.
“People still face challenges when asking banks for small loans to build a home,” the premier told the crowd, adding that government and bank talks are still ongoing.
He discussed moving toward technology to make procedures like going to the Capital Development Authority to get building permits or house maps accepted simpler.
PM Khan praised the work of the military engineers’ group Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) on the housing program, praising the FWO’s role in completing infrastructure work at the Kartarpur Corridor in “record time.”
People don’t have enough resources to build homes, according to the Prime Minister, so slums are growing across Pakistan. “No one has ever spoken of the people who live in slums,” he said, adding that slums occupy about 40% of Karachi.
Slums are also spreading in Islamabad. The premier stated that 600 people living in slums would be given flats as part of this apartment scheme.
He wished for anyone living in slum areas to own their own home one day.
“We have taken several loans, which instead of creating wealth to help pay back loans are actually increasing our loans,” he said, adding that the effort now is that there is wealth creation in the country.
He claims that the Naya Pakistan Housing project is connected to 30 other sectors, implying that it would contribute to long-term wealth creation.
Housing would stimulate economic growth in Pakistan, resulting in increased tax revenue and wealth formation, he added, adding that both of these factors would help Pakistan reduce its debt burden.
Naya Pakistan Housing loan scheme
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declared in October 2020 that the government will provide a facility for the development and purchasing of new homes for Pakistanis.
“This facility will allow all individuals who are building or purchasing a new home for the first time to take advantage of the bank’s funding at subsidized and competitive markup rates,” the SBP said in a statement.
The State Bank of Pakistan, as the executing collaborator of the Government of Pakistan and the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA), will provide administrative support for this facility, according to the announcement.