A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, headed by Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the Finance Minister took place in Islamabad on Wednesday where chairman, Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) submitted the revised eligibility criteria for selection of applicants, modalities for payment of cost subsidy and mechanism for release of funds with reference to the special incentive package for the housing and construction sector which had been announced by the Prime Minister, Imran Khan in July 2020.
The Committee approved the stipulated eligibility criteria and payment mechanism for cost subsidy against 100,000 houses to be constructed in phase 1 this year. The ECC emphasized to facilitate access to housing finance affordable rates for expanding housing ownership, keeping in view the Prime Minister’s vision so that low-to-middle income people could avail of low-cost housing.
The committee also approved a summary, presented by the Chairman, NAPHDA, asking for permission to enter into a negotiated procurement agreement for the construction of low-cost housing units through a public-private partnership.
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ECC further approved a summary regarding the revision of key parameters of the Mark-up Subsidy Scheme for housing finance as recommended by the State bank of Pakistan to ensure maximum participation by fulfilling relatively relaxed eligibility criteria.
The Ministry of Industries and Production presented a summary about the waiver of late payment surcharge for the operation of SNGPL-based fertilizer plants between September 2018 to November 2019. The committee did not approve the summary and directed to calculate LPS on the actual cost incurred and submit a revised summary in the next ECC meeting.
The Ministry then submitted a summary about the decision of the authority on Fuel Charge Adjustment (FCA). Then the ECC directed the secretaries of finance and power division to contemplate further over the issue and submit the updated proposal in the next meeting.
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The ECC constituted a sub-committee, headed by Dr. Ishrat Hussain, the Advisor to the Prime Minister to look into the issue, presented by the Power Division about the payment of outstanding dues and settlement of tariff issues with the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government.
ECC also approved the summaries, presented by the power Division regarding GOP sovereign guarantee against financing facility of Rs.15,350 million from local banks, about the import of 300,000 wheat, and regarding the technical supplementary grant (TSGs) for the railway, PPRA, and other departments.
