PHA directed to consider ‘cost-benefit analysis’ of projects

Federal Minister for Housing and Works Makhdom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat chaired a meeting regarding Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) here on Saturday.
PHA Deputy Managing Director Imran Afzal Cheema and Director Engineering Farooq Sherwani were present in the meeting.
While directing them to take into account the “cost-benefit analysis” of every project, the minister stated: “there is a need to calculate the financial implications of Carlton Hotel and Sector I-16 in Karachi and Islamabad respectively”.
Carlton Hotel Karachi is 4 Star Hotel having around 80 rooms close to Karachi Defence Golf club. The hotel is a major achievement of PHA; likewise it has launched a housing project at I-16 Islamabad for low paid federal government employees (BPS 1 to 16) and general public including overseas Pakistanis under the Prime Minister Housing Scheme.
The minister said the “apartments will be D (1095 sqft) and E (869 sqft) type which will be available on easy installments for government, semi-government employees, overseas Pakistanis and general public”.
He said: “the apartments will have earthquake resistance and will have all facilities like schools, hospitals, shopping plaza, playgrounds and parks”.
The minister focused that there was a need for professional and proficient persons in the field, removal of irregularities, timely allotment to low paid employees, speed up the work of standstill projects.
He stressed it was high time for the hosing ministry to “become a facilitator from provider” by removing bottlenecks and expediting the implementation process. To ensure provision of affordable housing with special emphasize on housing for low income groups.
He was of the view that “PHA should support other cities to generate economic growth and develop integrated development strategies to narrow the housing demand and supply for government employees and general public”.
Sector I-16 is the part of prime minister’s announcement of housing scheme for one million people across the country, back in 2008, with following objectives: to provide housing to poor and needy people, to provide affordable housing to middle class and lower middle class on easy installment financial plan, to provide housing to the government employees on or before retirement and to reduce the yawning gap between the supply and demand of housing units.
The meeting was intended to take effective measures to make the department efficient and helpful in developing modern community living with all the comforts and amenities of the 21th century at an affordable cost for the middle and low income groups.