Lahore: The Bank of Punjab (BoP) has signed a formal agreement with the Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) to provide interest-free home construction loans under the Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar programme, starting from the fiscal year 2025-26.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at a ceremony attended by Punjab Minister for Housing and Urban Development Bilal Yasin and BoP President Zafar Masud. PHATA Director General Sikandar Zeeshan and BoP’s Umar Khan signed the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions.
Speaking at the event, Minister Bilal Yasin announced that BoP will exclusively handle the financing component of the housing programme in the coming fiscal year. To meet annual housing targets more efficiently, the chief minister has also approved the involvement of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the loan delivery process.
He shared that so far, interest-free loans worth Rs60 billion have been distributed to around 52,000 individuals across Punjab. In addition, over Rs900 million has been recovered in the form of monthly installments. The minister also revealed that more than Rs10 billion in additional loan disbursements is expected by next month.
Secretary Housing Noor-ul-Amin Mengal emphasized that the department has been tasked with completing over 100,000 housing units within a year, adding that the application and loan provision process has been streamlined for greater accessibility. Citizens seeking assistance can call the programme’s toll-free helpline at 0800-09100.
The signing ceremony was also attended by representatives of key partner organizations, including Akhuwat CEO Dr Kamran, RCDP’s Murtaza Khokhar, and NRC-P Regional Manager Jawad Rehmani.
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