Karachi Division

Karachi | ReNews Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed all banks participating in the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme to stop charging processing fees from applicants and ensure that housing finance applications are decided within 15 days. The move is aimed at making affordable home financing more accessible, transparent and efficient for low and middle-income families seeking to purchase or build a home.
The announcement was made by Ghulam Muhammad Abbasi, Executive Director of SBP’s Islamic Finance Group, during a media briefing on housing finance. He said the central bank is taking a series of measures to simplify the application process and improve access to financing under the government-backed housing initiative.
To further facilitate applicants, the SBP has introduced an online application portal, enabling prospective borrowers to submit and track their applications digitally. Abbasi also announced that a dedicated housing finance helpline will be launched soon to assist applicants with inquiries, complaints and guidance throughout the financing process.
Under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, eligible applicants can obtain financing of up to Rs10 million to purchase a constructed house or apartment, buy a residential plot, or construct a house on a plot they already own. The financing covers houses of up to 250 square yards and apartments measuring up to 1,500 square feet, making the scheme accessible to a broad segment of urban and semi-urban homebuyers.
Borrowers can repay the financing over a period of up to 20 years, while benefiting from a fixed markup rate of 5% for the first 10 years, providing greater certainty and affordability during the initial repayment period.
Abbasi highlighted that the scheme has been designed to accommodate both formally employed and informal sector workers. Salaried individuals may submit salary slips as proof of income, while shopkeepers, freelancers and other applicants without conventional income documentation can use alternative evidence such as bank statements, electricity bills and mobile top-up records to support their applications.
In another borrower-friendly feature, the scheme allows beneficiaries to repay their outstanding financing before the end of the loan tenure without facing any prepayment penalty, offering greater financial flexibility for households whose incomes improve over time.
The latest directives reflect the SBP’s broader strategy to expand housing finance in Pakistan by removing procedural barriers, improving customer service standards and encouraging banks to process applications more efficiently. Officials believe these reforms will help increase homeownership, promote formal financing and support sustainable growth in the country’s housing sector.

Karachi : ReNews Pakistan
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is set to open the Munawar Chowrangi Underpass for public traffic tomorrow (Sunday), marking a significant milestone in the city’s efforts to improve urban mobility and reduce chronic traffic congestion. Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab announced that the primary construction work has been completed and the underpass is ready to begin operations.
In a statement, the mayor said that while the underpass will be fully functional for motorists from Sunday, finishing work will continue over the coming weeks. Beautification activities, including decorative tiling of the side walls, will be carried out without disrupting traffic flow. Construction of the remaining slip roads and service lanes is also scheduled to commence after the underpass becomes operational.
The Munawar Chowrangi Underpass forms part of a Rs. 2.02 billion infrastructure project launched in 2023 to address severe traffic bottlenecks at one of Karachi’s busiest road junctions. The project is expected to improve traffic movement, reduce travel times, and provide smoother connectivity for thousands of daily commuters travelling through the area.
The opening comes after sustained pressure from the Sindh government to expedite delayed infrastructure schemes. In February this year, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the Karachi mayor to complete both the Munawar Chowrangi and Karimabad underpasses within one month and make them operational for the public. The directive followed a review meeting in which the chief minister expressed concern over the slow pace of work on key urban development projects.
The Karimabad Underpass, another major traffic improvement initiative launched in May 2023, was originally scheduled for completion within 10 months and was expected to open in October 2024. However, technical and engineering challenges resulted in repeated delays, causing prolonged inconvenience to commuters, transport operators and businesses located along the affected routes.
City authorities believe the completion of the Munawar Chowrangi Underpass will provide immediate relief to motorists by improving traffic circulation in the area. Officials also expect the remaining works, including service lanes and associated road infrastructure, to further enhance accessibility and strengthen Karachi’s transport network once fully completed.

Karachi : ReNews Pakistan
The Sindh Cabinet has approved a revised budget of Rs 14.237 billion for the construction of a dedicated water supply pipeline that will deliver water from Dumlottee, on the outskirts of Karachi, to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The decision reflects a nearly 40 percent increase over the project's original estimated cost of Rs10.56 billion, which was approved in July 2025 to address the long standing water shortage affecting DHA residents.
The project is intended to provide a reliable and sustainable water supply to one of Karachi’s largest residential communities, where many households have depended heavily on private water tankers due to inadequate municipal water availability.
According to the Sindh government, the revised Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) cost has increased following significant changes to the project's technical design and scope. The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) has been entrusted with executing the pipeline project.
Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon stated that the revised estimate incorporates engineering modifications, upgraded pipeline materials, inflationary pressures, higher taxation, and the inclusion of additional infrastructure such as modern filtration facilities, a real time monitoring system, and other operational improvements designed to enhance the project's long term efficiency and reliability.
In addition to approving the revised construction cost, the cabinet authorised the appointment of a project consultant in accordance with the applicable public procurement laws to oversee implementation and ensure compliance with technical and regulatory standards.
The cabinet also approved an increase in the bulk water tariff from Rs 0.60 per gallon to Rs 0.70 per gallon as part of the project's updated financial framework. Officials said the revised tariff structure is intended to support the project's operational sustainability while maintaining long term financial viability.
Despite the higher upfront investment, the updated financial model indicates that the dedicated water supply system is expected to generate net savings of approximately Rs 2.31 billion over the next 10 years by reducing dependence on costly water tanker services, improving distribution efficiency, and lowering operational losses.
The project forms part of Sindh's broader efforts to strengthen Karachi's urban water infrastructure and improve access to dependable water supplies for rapidly growing residential areas through modern engineering solutions and long term investment in essential public utilities.