ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan has said construction of affordablehousing initiative will not only provide shelter to the homeless but alsogenerate huge economic activity.

He was chairing a meeting to review progress on formulation of a roadmapfor construction of five million houses across the country in Islamabad onMonday.

He said the initiative will also provide millions of jobs and will boostall associated industries of the housing sector.

Secretary Housing briefed the Prime Minister about the annual demand andshortfall in the housing sector.

Imran Khan said that provision of five million housing, equipped with allbasic facilities and regularization of slums is a foremost priority of theGovernment.

He said besides the availability of vast state lands across the country,utilization of prime lands of the state guest houses and other governmentowned properties in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone could generatebillions of rupees for five million Housing Scheme.

Prime Minister directed the committee to finalize its recommendationsregarding formulation of a comprehensive plan of action with delineatedtimelines within two weeks for early roll out of the Housing Program.

The meeting decided that the Prime Minister will take ownership of theinitiative in order to ensure smooth implementation and removing anyadministrative bottlenecks.