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KARACHI, July 28: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that housing and construction industries are among the government’s priorities as the construction and housing sectors play an important role in the alleviation of poverty and unemployment.
He stated this in his message on the occasion of the inauguration of the three-day International Housing Industry Exhibition beginning at the Expo Centre here on Friday.
The prime minister pointed out that the government was providing a conducive environment along with all possible facilities to local and foreign investors.
He said that after fast development in the housing and construction sectors, he foresaw fascinating highrises in the future which would prove to be a model of our culture and also of a modern city.
He congratulated the Karachi Building Control Authority for organizing the exhibition, and hoped that it would help achieve many objectives like bringing about improvement in the quality of construction, acquiring modern material and promoting close liaison between builders and people.
He called for effective planning for any new housing scheme and stressed the need for the availability of proper infrastructure in this regard.
INAUGURATION: Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim will formally inaugurate the three-day International Housing Industry Exhibition at the Expo Centre here on Friday.
The exhibition is being organized by the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) in collaboration with the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD).
Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Federal Minister for Housing and Works Syed Safwanullah, other federal and provincial ministers, advisers and senior officials will visit the exhibition in three halls of the Expo Centre. More than 100 builders and the companies in the field of housing and construction have been participating in the exhibition.
Chief Controller of Buildings Brig (r) A. S. Nasir on Thursday briefed journalists about the event and said that it would help revive and promote housing and construction activities in Pakistan, especially Karachi.
The other salient features of the event include a conference on housing and construction sector, a singing competition for children and an award distribution ceremony for winners of a painting competition on the theme of ‘enlightened moderation’.
The exhibition is being supported by federal ministry of housing, Sindh government, State Bank of Pakistan, Karachi City District Government and other government institutions.
Meanwhile Federal Minister for Housing and Works Syed Safwanullah has said that Karachi will need some two million housing units during the next two years and the International Housing Industry Exhibition will play an important role in meeting this important demand.
The minister appreciated holding of this exhibition and said it would open up new vistas of development in the construction and housing sectors.
In the next two years, he said, the low income people would be more in need of housing units.
He was of the view that because of the obsolete and non-useable infrastructure in Karachi, the housing sector was not progressing as fast as it should have been.
However, he was confident that this exhibition would give a boost to construction activities in the city, saying that the industry would witness a boom in the coming days.
He asked the Sindh government to take steps for improving the existing infrastructure of the city and providing the required base before the launch of a new scheme.
He observed that provision of modern facilities was not kept in view in the construction of highrises which, he said, was a matter of concern. He hoped that the exhibition would open up avenues for the construction of most modern skyscrapers and resources would be made available for providing modern day facilities in this regard.—APP
