ISLAMABAD:Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman Thursday urged for the need of making conducive policies to promote flood and climate resilient houses in the country.
She said this while addressing as chief guest at the inaugural session of the 1st International Housing Expo organized by the Ministry of Housing and Works by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry here.
The minister said that the recent floods have brought huge devastation in the country, destroying millions of houses and causing loss of over Rs 1.2 trillion.
Therefore, she said it is very important that the government should focus on making new policies to promote environmental friendly and green houses in the country that should reduce floods and climate induced risks.
She said that Pakistan was witnessing growing urbanization as in the future 60 percent of the population will be living in urban areas and it is very important that sustainable urbanization with better municipal services in cities should be promoted to reduce pressure on urban communities.
Addressing the expo, Deputy Chairman Senate Mirza Muhammad Afridi said that construction industry stimulates the economy and emphasized that the State Bank and the government should make policies in consultation with the private sector to facilitate the better growth of this important industry.
Secretary Ministry of Housing and Works Iftikhar Ali Shallwani said that it is the responsibility of the government to provide affordable housing to people, but it needs the help of the private sector to achieve this goal.
He said that organizing expo in collaboration with Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry on a public-private partnership model is a right step in that direction.
Iftikhar Shallwani said that the government intends to promote planned cities with focus on vertical housing and hoped that the various sessions being organized on the sidelines of the expo would come up with good proposals to help the government in materializing its plans of green and resilient housing.
He hoped that the expo would be a key milestone achievement of the Ministry of Housing & Works and ICCI.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that CDA should allocate land to ICCI to build housing units, university and hospital for traders.
He said that ICCI should be given permanent representation in the CDA Board to resolve the issues of the business community more effectively.
The President stressed that the government should fully cooperate with ICCI in establishing a new industrial zone in the region.
He said that the Islamabad Citizen Club should be revived urgently and ICCI be given representation in its administration.
He said that ICCI should also be given representation in the Islamabad Club to serve the cause of the business community.
The President further emphasized that a state-of-the-art Expo Centre should be constructed in Islamabad to promote business activities by organizing Expos of various sectors.
He said that the expo has provided a good platform to the local and international investors to display their housing products/projects and provide options of their choice to the visitors.
Khalid Iqbal Malik Group Leader ICCI, Shahzad Nawaz Cheema Joint Secretary and Team Leader Ministry of Housing & Works, Faad Waheed Senior Vice President and Engr. Muhammad Azhar ul Islam Zafar Vice President ICCI also spoke at the occasion and highlighted the importance of promoting housing sector to revitalize the economy.
Ambassador of Azerbaijan Khazar Farhadov, Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador of Ethiopia, representative of Spain Embassy, former presidents ICCI, executive members, exhibitor and members of business community were present at the occasion.