Rising construction costs shatter people’s dreams in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Contractor halted work on their projects, citing increase in costs of construction, rise in prices of steel from 47,000 rupees per tonne to 84 000, upward movement of cement prices thrice in nine months.

Noman Akbar, who booked a house in under-construction housing scheme in a locality in Rawalpindi, said his contractor had stopped work on house, saying that he could not bear its costs any more.

Many people attribute this unprecedented hike to previous government’s lack of vision to foresee the coming boom while others term it as unlawful cartelisation of manufacturers.

Experts believed the government should sit with various stakeholders to find out the modus operandi to address this problem. The said export of cement should be banned, abolition of sales tax and excise duty be announced immediately, controversial clauses from contractors agreement should be abolished. “Construction activity supports at least 50 other industries in the country. How these industries will survive if there is no activity at all,” asserts Noman Akbar.

Source: The Post