December 01, 2021: President Dr Arif Alvi called for further digitalization of the land records to give boost to the construction sector in the country while speaking at the concluding ceremony of the Pakistan International Property Exhibition on Tuesday.

He said the emphasis should be on vertical construction and affordable housing and recalled that Pakistan effectively tackled coronavirus pandemic, continued with its industrial activity, adding the government and private sector helped vulnerable sections of society at a critical time.

Supply chain and logistical problems have been pushed the prices of commodities to increase all over the world, he underlined. 

He said the government had limited resources but still it had given subsidies worth hundreds of billions of rupees on essential items to the low income people through Ehsaas programme.

“Pakistan was making good progress in the decade of 1960s but later corruption became a problem for the country,” he added.

Cities like Dubai made great strides by making huge investments in the construction sector, he noted. He also acknowledged that Pakistani investors also put their money into the construction sector of Dubai.

The President said housing was a basic need for a person and at present there was a gap between supply and demand of housing units in the country.

He said foreclosure law was an important law for reclaiming a property and for the progress of housing sector.

Islam also stressed on return of loans and spread of money for socio-economic progress and increase of productivity, he asserted.

He said construction package announced by the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan gave impressive boost to the construction industry which received investment of Rs 36 billion.

About 40 industries were allied with the construction industry, he added.

He said construction activity like the roads constructed by Sher Shah Suri generated employment and boosted economic growth.

He underlined the need for skill development of youth who could not get proper education.

Dr Alvi said in previous decades Pakistan exported its manpower who sent precious foreign exchange to the country.

He said our intent in the future should be to use the manpower for development of Pakistan instead of sending it abroad.

In the past, due to lack of planning and opportunities, the professionals of Pakistan including doctors and engineers went abroad, he observed.

He underscored the need for promotion of export oriented industry to improve the country’s balance of payments.

Due to the efforts of the government and private sector, textile and construction sectors expanded. The wages of labourers in the construction sector also increased.

He was hopeful that businessmen would be able to further increase exports due to the conducive business environment in the country.

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