Govt disburses over Rs5 billion in housing loans under Apna Ghar scheme

ISLAMABAD: The government has disbursed subsidised housing loans worth more than Rs5 billion to 1,845 individuals under the prime minister’s “Apna Ghar Programme”, officials told a parliamentary committee on Friday.

Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, officials said that the scheme aims to facilitate construction of up to 500,000 homes over the next four years through concessional mortgage financing.

According to figures shared with lawmakers, authorities received 25,304 applications under the programme, of which 8,990 have been approved so far.

The total approved loans amount to more than Rs37 billion, officials said.

Senior officials from the finance ministry, housing ministry and law ministry briefed committee members on the implementation framework of the programme as well as proposed reforms in housing finance and foreclosure laws.

The secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Works said the “Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Programme” is a subsidised housing finance initiative designed to support first-time homebuyers with loans of up to Rs10 million.

He said that the loans carry a fixed markup rate of 5 per cent, with a repayment period of 20 years and a financing structure of 90:10 between banks and borrowers.

Officials said that legal reforms in foreclosure and recovery laws were essential to reduce risk for banks, improve investor confidence and promote sustainable growth in the mortgage finance sector.

Lawmakers were told that Pakistan’s housing finance sector remains underdeveloped and requires structural reforms, stronger legal enforcement mechanisms and a more supportive regulatory environment to encourage banks and financial institutions to expand mortgage lending.

Members of the committee stressed the need for urgent reforms, saying improved foreclosure and recovery laws were critical for expanding access to housing finance in the country.