Middle East developers plan low-cost housing projects in Pakistan

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Faryal Najeeb
KARACHI: Three real estate developers from the Middle East are expected to invest over Rs5 billion in low cost housing projects in next two years and joint ventures in this regard are already being signed with local counterparts.

The News learnt from sources that Ta’sees Developers, owned by Saad Ibrahim Al Moosa of Dubai, Wadi Group from Abu Dhabi and a third group from Saudi Arabia are planning to introduce low cost housing projects along with a number of budget hotels all over Pakistan.

The source informed that local developers of the country were looking towards Pakistan to invest due to worst ever real estate crises in UAE. He said that these joint ventures were formed following the return of Pakistani investors from the UAE market.

He said that the low cost housing projects would be a blessing as Pakistan was facing a backlog of over eight million houses for the lower income and middle income groups.

He added that these Middle East developers have realized the potential in Pakistan and therefore following a meltdown in their own countries they had turned towards Pakistan for investment and profit.

Senior Vice President of FPCCI Sub committee on Housing and Construction, Munir Sultan commented that investments could be higher if the government realized the worth of Pakistan’s real estate industry and concentrated on it.

He said that the construction sector employed the highest number of labourers and also contributed significantly to the GDP of the country and yet the government was neglecting it.

He asserted that the government should stop facilitating developers launching projects for the elite who were not, “in need of shelters on their heads, as much as the poor people of our society.”

Sultan commented that it was a positive sign for foreign investors to come to the country despite sensitive political and economical situation in Pakistan and if these low cost houses were constructed as planned, investments worth millions more can be expected soon as Pakistan is on its path towards the revival of the real estate sector.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=150743