Lahore:Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday met Omani Minister for Housing and Urban Planning Dr Khalfan bin Saeed bin Mubarak Al Shueili during her visit to Muscat to discuss cooperation in housing and urban development.
According to a spokesperson, the two sides discussed housing, urban planning and development, with the Omani minister expressing keen interest in Punjab’s landmark ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ housing project.
Dr Khalfan warmly welcomed Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her delegation and congratulated her on receiving the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award for the ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ project.
The Omani minister expressed keen interest in the Punjab government’s housing initiative, while Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif thanked him for the project’s appreciation and briefed the Omani delegation on its salient features and answered their questions.
The CM also gave details of the ‘Apna Khet, Apna Rozgar’, ‘Apni Zameen, Apna Ghar’ and ‘Apni Chhat, Mehfooz Chhat’ projects.
CM Maryam Nawaz said it was an extraordinary achievement that more than 200,000 people had been provided loans to construct houses under ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ in just 18 months. She said interest-free loans worth Rs260 billion had not only been disbursed under the project but their instalment recovery had also started, while more than 125,000 families had already shifted to their own homes.
The CM said merit and transparency were the hallmarks of the ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ programme and no recommendation was required to benefit from it. She said she wanted to construct one million houses under the project, but economic constraints posed a challenge. ‘We will, however, achieve the target of constructing 500,000 houses for low-income people in five years,’ she added.
CM Maryam Nawaz said the project’s recovery rate was above 99 per cent because of the affordable monthly instalment of only Rs14,000. She said comprehensive data of people across Punjab had been compiled through the Punjab Socio-Economic Registry, which was being used to assess housing needs.
The CM said every house constructed under ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ carried a heart-touching story.
Dr Khalfan said a large Pakistani community in Oman was rendering valuable services and contributing to the country’s development. He said Oman was like a second home for every Pakistani, as well as for Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. He said Oman had two housing loan models, under which a housing grant was provided to people earning less than $1,000, while loans were also offered through the Oman Housing Bank.
The Omani minister said the ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ programme was a better initiative because it provided interest-free loans. He said separate departments were working on housing and urban development in Oman. He added that urban planning in Muscat was being given particular attention through integrated planning and sustainable strategies to support the growing real estate industry.
Dr Khalfan said urban development was being carried out through economic and environmental planning while keeping in view the needs of every community and sector. He said Oman was focusing on smart housing while keeping future requirements in view. He also appreciated the valuable contribution of Pakistani companies to Muscat’s real estate sector.