Contextualizing Housing Cooperation under CPEC

Housing is considered as a most serious policy concern across the world. It has been deepening since last few decades due to high population growth, migrations, changing demographic patterns, and urban sprawl4. Economic rationales, social dividends and political responses are further compounding the urban sprawl and housing problems globally and the very case of Pakistan is no exception. In Pakistan there are more than 5 million backlogs of dwelling units as per the latest evidence provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) in the recent population census of 20175 (see table 1 & 2). However, historically Pakistan has valuable experiences to deal with the formidable housing problems since independence due to huge influx of more than 8 million refugees. Since then Government of Pakistan involvement in responding to housing sector issues have received high policy priority. Land reforms projects during the Ayub Khan and Z.A Bhutto regime also tried to address the housing problem in the country. During the 1980s Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo gave revolutionary PM’s Five Point Socio-Economic Program with the particular focus on housing for the poor6. Afterword, in the first National Housing Policy of 2001 followed by 2007 also mention affordable housing as a policy target but unfortunately, these policy documents were not implemented in true letter and spirit. There are following policy measures adopted in Pakistan as well as in other developing countries to address the housing problems…..