Spending on social infrastructure stressed

REIT member for extending special lending rate to low-cost housing

LAHORE: The upcoming federal and provincial budgets must focus on uplifting social infrastructure spending such as establishing hospitals, bio/genetic pharma production units, supporting nursing education and student housing facilities besides construction of low-cost housing schemes, said Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) board member Aftab Ahmad.

Referring to the special lending rate of 3% announced by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for the construction of healthcare facilities amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Ahmad called for extending the scope of the special lending rate to low-cost housing and other social infrastructure projects.

“Each and every provincial government must announce the allocation of land for developing social infrastructure facilities in their respective province,” he said.

Keeping the current scenario in view, Ahmad was of the opinion that budget exercises by all governments would become futile due to the worsening economic situation of the country.

“Hence, it is only the prioritisation of infrastructure development activities that can create sustainable employment opportunities and boost private sector investment in the country,” he said.

The construction and real estate sector is believed to be the engine of growth for any economy as it can give a boost to allied industries, which number more than 40 in Pakistan.

Previous governments tried to uplift construction activities, however, their focus was confined to establishing low-cost housing schemes.

“The current government is also focusing on the construction sector through the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme, for which it is utilising public-private partnership,” Ahmad said and emphasised that the scope of construction sector should go beyond building low-cost houses and it should also pay attention to constructing hospitals and student housing facilities alongside industrial estates.

He urged the federal and provincial governments to prioritise the construction of labour colonies and all planned industrial estates at a low cost.

He was the view that such colonies could offer attractive installment schemes for the transfer of ownership to the labourers working in the industrial estates. Apart from these, low-cost labour hostels should also be planned in close proximity to all industrial estates of the country, he stressed.

Association of Builders and Developers’ former chairman Shahid Rafiq emphasised that following announcement of the construction package, a reduction in interest rate and availability of credit to builders should be the priority.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2020.

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