shelter: MoU signed to build 50,000 houses

The project will be completed in two years

LAHORE: The government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Saturday with the Turkish Housing Development Administration (TOKI), a state agency, to build 50,000 housing units for low-income people in the Punjab.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the housing societies developed over the last few years had been for the elite. “This project of the government aims at providing houses to low-income people. The government will build these houses and hand them over to the people on instalments. There will be no interest. This model is successfully being followed in Turkey and other countries. Turkey will provide us guidance as a brotherly country,” he said.

The chief minister said that TOKI built 50,000 houses a year in Turkey. “I have requested them to build 25,000 houses a year in the Punjab,” he said. Turkey’s Ambassador to Pakistan S Babur Girgn said the project was another initiative between the two countries and would hopefully be completed successfully.

The houses will be constructed ove`r the next two years. Minister for Housing Tanveer Aslam Malik and TOKI president Mehmet Ergun Turan signed the MoU.

According to the agreement, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, government of the Punjab and TOKI would collaborate on the project.

“On request of the GoP, the TOKI has agreed to provide full technical consultancy support within its merit to Punjab in its endeavour to provide 50,000 housing units for lower and middle income residents of the Punjab in the next two years. Experts from both sides will work out the details to arrive at an agreement to benefit from the TOKI’s knowledge and experience. The focus will be on adapting TOKI’s financial, technical, managerial and business model for Punjab. For this purpose, there will be exchange of experts who would devise the scope and modalities of the technical support,” the MoU stated.

“The TOKI will also share its experience on building of public sector buildings including hospitals, public offices, stadiums and projects of urban transformation,” it stated.

“Another issue being faced by the Punjab is horizontal housing. This trend needs to be changed to vertical housing units in order to best utilise precious land,” it said. “The parties may jointly or individually organise events and exchange delegations or participate in such events organised by other party in furtherance of the above objectives,” it stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2016.