The Ministry of Public Works and Settlement was formed in 1983 with the merging of the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Reconstruction and Settlement, which had been established in 1920 an 1958 respectively, for the purposes of carrying out civil works and major repairs concerning public buildings, and highways as well as providing services related to physical planning, land development and housing for low income families as well as extending disaster relief.

The Ministry is composed of the central, provincial, annexed and affiliated organisations. The Central Organisations consist of three main bodies which are the General Directorate of Construction Affairs, the General Directorate of Disaster Affairs and the General Directorate of Technical Research and Implementation. In addition to these, there are the Consultation and Inspection Units consisting of Inspection Board, High Technical Board, Board of Research, Planning and Coordination, and the Office of Legal Advisors. Moreover, the Department of Personnel, Department of Budgetary Affairs, Audit Office and Private Secretariat of the Minister work as the supporting units. The General Directorate of Highways is the annexed unit of the Ministry, while the General Directorate of the Bank of Provinces is the affiliated unit of the Ministry. In addition to the central organisation, the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement provides services all around the country through its Provincial Directorates. These Directorates carry out their responsibilities in coordination with the main bodies of the Ministry and under the supervision of the respective Governors. The General Directorate of Highways and The Bank of Provinces have their own extensions too, but theirs are at regional level in the form of regional Directorates.