KARACHI (Dunya News) - Sindh has completed the construction of one million houses for flood victims, while the provincial government has set a target of building 2.1 million homes.
Addressing a ceremony, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the province had suffered massive destruction during the floods, leaving thousands of people homeless.
He said the government had faced several challenges in rehabilitating affected families, but the completion of one million houses under the Sindh Peoples Housing Programme marked the fulfilment of a promise made to flood victims and a historic milestone.
Murad Ali Shah said the target was to construct 2.1 million climate-resilient houses for flood-affected people across 23 districts of the province. He added that all completed houses had been verified through geotagging and digital monitoring.
The chief minister said the World Bank had contributed $500 million to the project, while the Sindh government had provided $179 million from its own resources. He also acknowledged the support of the Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and European Investment Bank.
He said one of the major achievements of the Sindh Peoples Housing Programme was the empowerment of women. Millions of women in rural Sindh had become homeowners for the first time, he added, describing registration of houses in women's names as a guarantee of their security and dignity, beyond mere property ownership.
Murad Ali Shah said work was now under way on clean water, sanitation and drainage projects following the construction of houses. Through a combined investment of around $1 billion, basic facilities would be provided to 4,800 villages.
He said the government had empowered affected families to build their own houses instead of relying on contractors.
The chief minister said the Sindh Peoples Housing Foundation had completed this historic task through a digital system with a team of only 40 people. However, he described the people of Sindh, who rebuilt their homes through determination and hard work, as the real heroes of the project.
He said the journey would continue towards the target of 2.1 million houses following the completion of one million homes, adding that the government remained committed to turning public hopes into reality under the leadership of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.