The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Ministry of Housing & Works have agreed to jointly organize the first International Housing Expo 2022 (IHE-2022) in Islamabad in December this year. This consensus was reached when both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, Secretary Ministry of Housing and Works signed the MoU at a ceremony held in the Ministry.

Speaking at the occasion, Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Works said that all the major international and national developers, builders and real estate enterprises would be invited to display their projects in the Expo. He said that the Expo will help in attracting local and foreign investment to Pakistan and revive the economic development in the urban areas of the country. He said that the government places affordability, sustainability and inclusiveness of the housing sector at the core of the urbanization process to ensure access to adequate housing for all. He said that the main objective of the Expo is to promote urban regeneration schemes, management of rapid urbanization and development of national urban infrastructure to support urban development and promote affordable green energy housing for all. He hoped that the collaboration between the Ministry and the ICCI for the forthcoming IHE-2022 would be helpful in making the Expo a landmark event.

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in his remarks said that ICCI intends to construct Pakistan's tallest building in Islamabad and its plan would be announced during the International Housing Expo 2022. He said that the tallest tower would attract investors to Pakistan and make Islamabad a hub of financial and investment activities as happened in UAE after the construction of Burj Khalifa. He said that many investors are interested in constructing high rise buildings in Islamabad and urged that the CDA should amend its building byelaws to encourage vertical constructions, which offer the best solution to tackling the affordable housing challenge in the federal capital and across the country. He assured that ICCI would extend full support to the Ministry in organizing the IHE-2022 in a successful manner.

Faad Waheed Senior Vice President, Azhar ul Islam Zafar Vice President ICCI, Khalid Iqbal Malik Group Leader, Khalid Javed, Zafar Bakhtawari, Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi, Sheikh Amir Waheed, Ameer Hamza and others were present at the occasion.