Summary Maryam Nawaz met Oman’s housing minister in Muscat and discussed Punjab’s housing initiatives, interest-free loans, urban planning and smart housing.
MUSCAT (Dunya News) — Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met Oman’s Minister of Housing and Urban Planning Dr Khalfan bin Saeed bin Mubarak Al Shueili, with the two sides holding detailed discussions on matters related to housing and urban planning.
The Omani minister warmly welcomed Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her delegation and congratulated her on receiving the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award. He also expressed keen interest in Punjab’s ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ housing scheme.
Maryam Nawaz thanked the Omani minister for appreciating the Punjab housing scheme and briefed the delegation on its details. She also highlighted the ‘Apna Khet, Apna Rozgar’, ‘Apni Zameen, Apna Ghar’ and ‘Apni Chhat, Mehfooz Chhat’ initiatives.
The chief minister said the disbursement of loans to more than 200,000 people to build homes under ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ within just 18 months was an extraordinary achievement. She said Rs260 billion in interest-free loans had been disbursed for the scheme, while installment recovery had also begun.
Maryam Nawaz said more than 125,000 families had shifted to their own homes under the scheme. She said merit and transparency were its distinguishing features and no recommendation was required to benefit from the programme.
The Punjab chief minister said she wanted to build 1 million homes under ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’, but economic constraints were a hurdle. She said the target of building 500,000 homes for low-income people would be achieved within five years.
According to Maryam Nawaz, the scheme’s recovery rate is above 99 percent due to the affordable monthly installment of Rs14,000. She said complete data from across Punjab had been compiled under the Punjab Socio-Economic Registry to determine housing needs.
Dr Khalfan said the large Pakistani community living in Oman was rendering valuable services. He said Oman was like a second home for Maryam Nawaz Sharif, as it was for every Pakistani.
The Omani minister said Oman had two housing loan models and provided housing grants to people earning less than $1,000. He said loans were provided through the Oman Housing Bank, but ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ was a better initiative because it offered interest-free financing.
Dr Khalfan said two separate departments were working on housing and urban development in Oman. He said urban planning in Muscat was being pursued through integrated planning and sustainable strategies to support the city’s growing real estate industry.
He said urban development was being carried out through economic and environmental planning while considering the needs of every community and sector. He added that Oman was focusing on smart housing while keeping future requirements in view.
The Omani minister said Pakistani companies were rendering valuable services in Muscat’s real estate sector.
