The second edition of Panchakanya Real Estate Expo kicked off in the capital on Thursday. The expo, organized by Nepal Land and Housing Developers´ Association (NLHDA) in association with Direction Nepal, will last for three days, during which property dealers will showcase latest land and housing products. The expo has over 200 stalls of housing developers, banks and financial institutions, construction material producers, interior designers and electrical equipments producers, among others. "We hope the expo to reinject fresh confidence and capital in the real estate sector," said Ichhya Raj Tamang, president of NLHDA. Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, inaugurating the expo, said that the government was taking steps to promote land and housing industry. He asked the developers and building traders to seriously focus at catering to the requirements of the needy people belonging to middle and low income groups. During the program, builders and developers expressed dissatisfaction against the central bank´s policy to tighten loans to real estate business, and asked Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to withdraw its cap on realty loans. However, NRB Governor Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada said if the central bank had not taken such a step, a larger number of banks would have landed into trouble by now.
"It was a wise move," he said. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that real estate is an important sector of economy and that the country needs its well-planned growth to fulfill basic housing needs of the people.