18 December 2022
PEMRA’ NOC for Real Estate Development
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) this week has made it mandatory for private housing societies to obtain No Objection Certificates (NOC) before running any advertisement on TV Channels. The decision to this effect was taken during the 175th meeting of the authority, approving amendment in the TV Broadcast Regulations about airing of advertisements of the private housing societies and other related projects on the Television Channels. The meeting was chaired by its Chairman Muhammad Saleem Baig.
Under the amended regulations, it is mandatory for real estate developers to fulfil all rules and regulations and get an NOC from the relevant development authority before seeking a permission from PEMRA for running ads of housing projects. It also says disciplinary actions would be taken against the housing projects who would run the advertisement campaigns without obtaining NOC from the authority.
Islamabad Illegal Housing Societies
Islamabad is sprawling day by day due to the exponential rise in the number of housing societies. However, only a handful of them are legal as they meet all the required conditions. When the Standing Committee on Interior of the National Assembly reviewed this week the mushroom-like spread of unapproved and illegal housing societies in several zones throughout the capital, it was revealed to them, only 47 housing societies out of 109 housing schemes in the Federal Capital are legally permitted.
According to the sources, Islamabad is divided into five zones, with CDA sectors and Margalla Hills making up Zones I and II while illegal housing societies are located in the other three zones. Furthermore, Zone IV is the most misused area of the federal capital with 77 illegal housing societies, followed by Zone II with 27 illegal housing societies and Zone V with 23 illegal projects. The date of launch of illegal housing schemes and names of sponsors were unavailable.
Construction Industry declines in Large Scale Manufacturing Sector
Large-scale manufacturing (LSM) posted a negative growth of 7.75% continually with construction sector also in abysmal state. This was the second consecutive month this year to have posted a negative growth rate, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The output of all 16 LSM sectors shrank, and only six posted growth, albeit marginally.
Cement and steel are among the main contributors to the slowdown with 10.48%, and 8.45% declination respectively. The deceleration in industrial output during the current fiscal year indicates that economic growth will slip further in the next quarter.
Islamabad Housing Expo concludes
The three-day International Housing Expo-2022 ended at the Convention Centre, Islamabad with the participants insisting that the event will go a long way towards developing real estate and construction sectors to cater to the country’s current and future housing needs. The expo, which was held by the housing and works ministry and the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attracted large crowds of people, especially those on the lookout for real estate and housing investment opportunities. The event also brought the leading builders and developers under one roof providing them with the best housing and investment options, especially in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Housing secretary Iftikhar Ali Shalwani in his concluding address, stressed the development of the housing sector would help the economy to grow. He thanked the local and foreign partners for support and cooperation to hold the expo on the basis of public-private partnership and said the event was the first of its kind in the country. He called for vertical real estate development and said many countries had addressed the housing issue by encouraging people to build vertically.
