Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday vowed that his government will "make the impossible possible" by building houses for the less privileged.

The premier, who was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme in Renala Khurd, said that it was the state's job to ensure that every citizen has access to shelter, food and other basic facilities. He announced that the housing scheme will be launched country-wide and added that the critics of the project will see that it will gain pace every year.

"This is a difficult task, otherwise the past two governments would have taken [this project] up," he said. "Our government will take up every difficult task."

"Initiating the project took time because of legislative and legal hurdles. We had to introduce laws so that it would be possible for banks to give loans to people for this purpose," he told the attendees, going on to say that the government will take banks on board and introduce mortgage laws so that a salaried person will also be able to buy a house.

Prime Minister Imran said that the building of the houses will be outsourced to the private sector and the government will merely assist in the process.

"We want every citizen to have a roof over their heads," he said.

The premier also said that the government seeks to build high-rise apartment blocks in the place of shanty towns in urban cities. He said that the centre has asked Chinese builders to assist the government in the project using the latest technology so that work can be completed quickly.

He said that the 'state of Madina' became strong because it cared for its poor, even though it initially lacked resources. The west, he said, had attained success because it followed the model of the Madina state.

The Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme is an ambitious project that was announced by the prime minister in a launch ceremony held in October 2018. The government is looking to build five million affordable houses in five years for low-income segments of society under the plan.

JW Forland plant to create new jobs

Later in the day, while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of JW Forland facility park and Haier industrial park in Lahore, the prime minister said that manufacturing of cars in Pakistan will create around 40,000 new jobs.

He assured that the Prime Minister Office will assist local and foreign investors to improve ease of doing business in Pakistan. The premier regretted that in Pakistan hurdles were created for investors forcing them to pull their money out and invest in other countries instead.

He congratulated Javed Afridi, the chief executive officer of Haier Pakistan, over the completion of the park.