Abdul Aleem Khan, Chairman Vision Group said that Pakistan needs innovative and creative housing solutions to bridge the gap of rising housing shortage and stressed that the government should amend building byelaws to encourage innovative constructions as current building laws were a major hurdle in vertical growth, which is the future need of the country. He said that the condition of real estate is the yardstick to judge the growth of a country as when real estate grows the country grows and when the real estate is in slump, it means that the economy is in trouble. He said this while addressing as Chief Guest at the Awards Distribution ceremony of the 1st International Housing EXPO 22 organized by Ministry of Housing & Works in collaboration with Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry at Jinnah Convention Centre, Islamabad from December 8-11, 2022, which ended on a high note.

Abdul Aleem Khan said that Dubai has achieved historic development in the last 20 years by encouraging vertical growth in construction and said that Dubai should be the role model for Pakistan. He said that Abu Dhabi, Sharja, Qatar etc. have achieved great economic growth by focusing on the construction industry and said that Pakistan needs a vision to promote the construction industry to revive its economy as this industry boosts the growth of roughly 100 allied industries. He appreciated the Ministry of Housing & Works and ICCI for organizing such a wonderful housing expo.

Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that many big players of the housing and construction sector are developing good housing projects and the purpose of organizing the Expo was to provide them a good platform to market their projects. He said that the Expo has also provided the people an excellent opportunity to see the housing products of latest trends that help them in building smart and energy efficient houses. He said that the Expo has come up with very good recommendations during breakout sessions to provide shelter to all and hoped that the government would consider implementing them to provide affordable housing options to low-income people. He thanked the platinum, diamond and gold partners and all the exhibitors for making the Expo a successful event. He also thanked the Ministry of Housing & Works for partnering with ICCI to organize the 1st International Housing Expo in these tough economic conditions.

Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Works said that organizing the 1st International Housing Expo in the current difficult economic times was a great challenge and thanked ICCI for joining hands to make it a successful venture. He said that the housing and construction industry has a vital role in the development of the economy and vowed that this Expo would be made an annual feature of the Ministry.

The first exclusive award was given to Ch. Abdul Rauf, Chairman, Fair Group. From the platinum partners, the top five awards recipients included Grana.com, Gandhara City, Star World, Star Marketing, Fair Deal Marketing. From diamond partners, the top five award recipients included Taj Residencia, Movida, KK Enterprises, Property Enclave and Crescent Lake Tower. From gold partners, the top five award recipients included AMS Group, Amar Builders, Gulberg Mall, R. Power, Chawla Aluminum. The awards were given to various other categories including exhibitors and universities.