Apna Ghar Housing Loans Near Rs0.5 Trillion, But Disbursement Lags Far Behind
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Apna Ghar housing scheme has approved 75,198 loans worth Rs448 billion, yet only Rs76 billion has actually been disbursed to 14,000 applicants, exposing a wide gap between approvals on paper and money reaching homebuyers.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, directed banks and government agencies to simplify housing loan procedures and expand access to financing. The Apna Ghar housing loans review covered the scheme’s performance alongside SME and agriculture lending.
Rs700bn target, faster processing
The government has set a target of Rs700 billion in housing loans for 125,000 residential units this year. Officials told the meeting that processing time for housing finance applications had been cut to 15 working days, while the required documents had been slashed from 25 to five.
Sharif directed the ministries concerned, government secretaries and the State Bank of Pakistan to complete consultations with stakeholders from the housing, SME and agriculture sectors by the end of October and submit recommendations. He also told officials to make it easier for applicants to provide information and obtain unencumbered property title deeds, and called for early finalisation of recommendations by the committee working on developer financing.
The prime minister urged banks with weak lending performance to improve their results, while encouraging stronger contributors to the priority sectors.
Agriculture and SME lending in the same push
Agricultural lending currently stands at Rs1.352 trillion, benefiting 3.455 million people. The government aims to raise it to Rs1.5 trillion with 4.5 million beneficiaries by June 2027. In the SME sector, more than 352,000 businesses have received loans totalling Rs1.137 trillion, with a target of Rs1.5 trillion for 575,000 businesses by June 2027.
Sharif also directed that inactive Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation warehouses and silos be brought under public-private partnerships to expand storage capacity and improve safe storage of farmers’ produce.
The push fits a wider official effort to unclog private-sector credit. The World Bank has separately urged Pakistan to remove needless business rules holding back enterprise, and the State Bank’s faster cheque-clearing rollout shows the same digitisation impulse now being applied to loan paperwork. Punjab has run its own targeted credit experiments, from a Rs5 billion pink-salt loan scheme to bank financing for scooties.
Frequently asked questions
How much has the Apna Ghar scheme disbursed?
Rs76 billion to 14,000 applicants, against Rs448 billion in approvals for 75,198 loans. The government has now set a Rs700 billion target for 125,000 units.
What changes did the PM order?
Faster processing (15 working days), fewer documents (five instead of 25), easier title-deed requirements, and stakeholder consultations to be completed by end-October.
What are the agriculture and SME targets?
Agriculture credit is to rise from Rs1.352 trillion to Rs1.5 trillion (4.5 million beneficiaries) and SME lending from Rs1.137 trillion to Rs1.5 trillion (575,000 businesses) by June 2027.
Tags: Apna Ghar, housing loans, Shehbaz Sharif, SBP, SME loans, agriculture credit
