ISLAMABAD, April 9: The Ministry of Housing and Works is all set to construct 1,000 flats in sectors G-10 and G-11 which will be given to government employees from grade 1 to 16 on ownership basis.

“It would be the first project for government employees being launched by the new government,” a senior official of the housing ministry told Dawn on Wednesday.

The official said the ministry had purchased about 16 acres from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) where new flats would be constructed.

He said different firms had been asked to present their designs to the ministry for the new flats.

He said the housing ministry had already executed a similar project during the tenure of the last government in order to provide flats to government employees on ownership basis.

He said the ministry was currently working to finalise the criteria to allot flats to federal government employees.

“But it has principally been decided that the employees who still have at least 10-year service would be given new flats on mortgage basis,” he added.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Rehmatullah Kakar said housing scheme for federal government employees in sectors G-10 and G-11 would be launched within the next two weeks.

He told media that 1,000 housing units of category B and C would be constructed in G-10 and G-11 sectors to provide affordable accommodation to government employees.

“Ground-breaking ceremony of this housing scheme in these sectors will hopefully be held within the next two weeks,” he said, adding that a similar scheme in F-12 sector was also on the cards.

However, a source in the ministry said the CDA seemed to be helpless in acquiring F-12 sector where a large number of villagers are still residing and new constructions were being made everyday without any check by the CDA.

Rapid construction activities in F-12 are reportedly being carried out in connivance with the CDA enforcement officials. The purpose of the new constructions is to get handsome compensation from the CDA when the authority acquires the sector.

The source said the CDA had already announced land compensation package after finalising the lists of villagers and built-up property, and any new construction after this was a violation of the CDA laws.

The housing minister said the government had planned to construct one million low-cost housing units across the country to meet the growing demands in the housing sector.

Mr Kakar said conventional as well as modern techniques of construction would be applied in this mega housing project.