Cabinet committee reviews low cost housing schemes projects

Lahore : A meeting of special cabinet committee on promotion of low cost housing schemes with the fund generation by public-private partnership joint ventures was held today in ACS Conference Room, Civil Secretariat Lahore under the Chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Shumail Ahmad Khawaja.

The meeting discussed the mode of public-private partnership transaction structure, financial viability, projects cash flow, key financial parameters options and evaluation criteria for pre-qualification.

It was identified in the meeting by the CEO Urban Sector Planning & Management Services Unit Punjab Dr. Nasir Javed that three land parcels in Lahore are being considered for development of public-private partnership projects.

According to the master plan of the proposal, upfront land sale will be done on equity based investment. These three land parcels include Lahore Omni Bus Service Depot, Ferozpur Road Lahore, Food Godown at Guru Mangat Road Gulberg Lahore and the upfront area of Building Road and Research Center adjacent to Jinnah Hospital at Canal Road Lahore.

The recommendations of the Special Committee constituted by the Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has also decided to take advice from financial, legal and  technical consultants apart from conducting Real Estate Market Study before sending it to the Punjab Chief Minister for his final approval.

The joint venture holding company which would be engaged in this project will also incorporate a parallel construction project of low cost housing for the poor people at large, the expenditure on which will be incurred from the profitability of the three land parcels in different areas of the Lahore City where commercial plazas and residential apartments in the shape of towers which will be available to the interested well to do people on market rates.

The meeting accorded conceptual approval of the master plan and suggested that Punjab Land Development Company and Housing & Urban Development Department would also be incorporated in the project which is basically meant for culmination into materializing low cost housing schemes in Lahore and its suburbs. This model would be replicated in the other big cities of the province.

A conducive atmosphere has been provided for local as well as foreign investors in the Punjab by current regime under the dynamic leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the ACS added.

CEO Urban Sector Planning & Management Services Unit Punjab Dr. Nasir Javed, member P&D on Finance Risk Management Unit of Public-private partnership Agha Waqar, Director General LDA Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Project Director Punjab Land Development Company Moazzam Iqbal Sipra participated in the meeting.