PMIU-PAHP initially commissioned Pakistan Council of Architects and Towns Planners (PCATP) to coordinate for the design competition. Withdrawal of PCATP does not cause any postponement of the design competition, and the process will continue as planned. However, in response to numerous requests from participants, deadline for submission has been extended. The new deadline is August 31, 2024. For any queries, please directly contact PAHP at rni.pahp@punjab.gov.pk or call us at +92 42 99205319, Ext: 268. For further updates, keep following us on:
Website: www.pahp.gop.pk
Linked in: Punjab Affordable Housing Program
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PAHP is a World Bank-funded program of Government of Punjab that aims to completely transform the housing sector of the whole province. PMIU is completely resourceful and equipped to organise and successfully complete the process of design competition, and is supported by seasoned and top-of-line national and international experts. Do not miss the huge opportunity to showcase your ideas due to any misleading information.

Encroachment refers to areas occupied by informal settlers, their structures (temporary or permanent), and/or livelihood activity (incl. agriculture) and are not marked in the survey file. Encroached areas do not necessarily involve litigation issues and may be cleared before implementation is commenced and need to be an integral part of the scheme planning.
Litigation refers to areas where the original owners have gone to court for enhancement of the purchase price. These areas have been marked as ‘under litigation’ in the topographic survey file, and will be incorporated into the housing scheme after the court’s decision. Thus, while they need to be a part of the scheme planning, their development will be undertaken in later phase/s.
To improve feasibility, it is recommended to consider accommodating such areas in “clusters” inside of urban blocks, as far as feasible. The cluster strategy: (i) maximizes continuity of key infrastructure such as main roads bypassing the areas under litigation from the beginning; and (ii) ensures that land value increases on land abutting key infrastructure are already available for financing the project during the initial phase.

It is suggested to cost services and housing separately, to allow for understanding the specific costs of different infrastructure and housing prototypes. The cumulative cost of services and housing shall meet the price points specified in the competition brief.
The participants may provide a simple tool for spot-costing the serviced land for each housing prototype, subject to the following inputs: land consumption (of private lot and public spaces/services), infrastructure cost specific to a housing solution (prototype or zone), overheads (e.g., design and management, financing cost).

As mentioned in the Design Brief document, the objective of this competition is to propose basic housing solutions for households that can afford housing unit prices from 1.1 million to 2.1 million PKR only. This cost is for a basic starter home (future-proof) ready to be expanded in size and improved in material progressively over time. Thus, in addition, to designing the initial starter home and mapping a suitable path for progressive improvements towards a consolidated home, the competition entry will need to justify the balance of price and liveability.

There is no minimum lot size. The participating teams can determine the lot size for an affordable and liveable housing unit for the given target groups and/or appropriate apartment size as per the international best practices.

Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) is the custodian of the Sialkot site and the PAHP Planning Standards uploaded on the PAHP website apply.
(please refer to https://pahp.gop.pk/DesignCompetition.html)

Yes, a mix of both housing units and apartment typologies to maximise the density and affordability is desirable, keeping the other objectives intact such as liveability, functionality, and inclusion.

Yes. However, any material used needs to be fully costed out to ensure affordability.

Since land costs will vary, so in the interest of standardisation of housing prototype costs, it is suggested that land costs should not be added to the unit cost.

The average household (HH) size in Punjab is 5-6 persons. Participants are however encouraged to design for a range of HH sizes and compositions, as HHs grow over time. This would allow for different price points without compromising the liveability.

Please refer to the Design Brief document for detailed scope of work.

This is a design competition for ideas. The procurement of consultants for the detailed architectural, structural, and MEP designs and construction supervision may proceed subsequently.

Please note that different typology of housing units can be part of the proposal; under the incremental type, houses may start small and grow incrementally over time.

There is no fixed density range. The effort is to maximise scheme density without compromising on liveability, functionality, and inclusion/affordability.

For the purposes of this design competition, no financial assistance to homeowners should be envisaged by PHATA or the Banks.
The cost of the housing solution (serviced land and dwelling) should thus be as low as possible, to be affordable to the beneficiaries, and be replicable/scalable, given the limited fiscal means of government.

Please refer to the Design Brief and Planning Standards. There is no fixed range of building heights. However, for low-income beneficiaries it is desirable to keep it at a maximum of G+4 without elevators. Building height may be more by keeping the financial and technical feasibility under consideration.

Jury members will not be privy to the information of the participants. We ensure the complete anonymity and transparency during the submissions and evaluation process.

Yes, the core objective of PAHP and the competition is affordable housing.

This is an ideas competition requiring submission of conceptual designs. For the details of deliverables, please refer to the Design Brief document.

Yes, you may consider “basic”, “intermediate”, and “consolidated” options, where “consolidated” is full provision, and “basic” is the minimum starter environment designed for future improvement. (This is like the 130sf vs 390sf house in Indonesia; the reference section in the Design Brief provides examples for this).

Typically, land portions abutting a public road is more valuable than another one that is not. Planners should exploit this relationship strategically, by locating public roads — especially larger ones that create more value — away from areas under encroachment or litigation.
If so, the land value increases generated from the infrastructure provision will accrue to ready-to-use lands and generate revenues to finance the project. (In contrast, if the costly infrastructure would be located inside or immediately adjacent to an area that cannot be used readily, then the project would need to pay for the expense but not be able to enjoy the revenue, which would depress financial feasibility.)

This is an ideas competition only and does not require detailed design work. Moreover, there is an ambition (non-binding) to realize suitable entries, and if so, the opportunity to be selected for downstream work.

In response to numerous requests from participants, deadline for submission has been extended. The new deadline is August 31, 2024.

Innovative and out-of-the-box (or indigenously proven) solutions are welcomed, while meeting the core objectives.

Maximum utilization of land parcel is expected while adhering to the Planning Standards. The typologies are mentioned in the ‘Key Terms and Parameters (Price Points)’ in the competition brief. Target groups affordability has also been provided under the head of Affordability in the Design Brief document. The percentage division of housing stock with reference to affordability and groups has been provided under the head of 'Price Points'.

Incremental housing has a proven track record globally. Please refer to the Design Brief document.