Karachi: Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) Chairman Fayyaz Ilyas on Tuesday urged the federal government to take notice of the sudden hike in the price of cement and steel — with these products used as essential raw material in the construction sector, according to news sources.
The chairman issued a statement in which he insinuated that the increase in the prices of cement and steel would negatively impact the incumbent government’s efforts to provide affordable housing units to the low-income segments of Pakistan.
He revealed that despite the local sourcing of most construction raw materials, the cement and steel manufactures had increased their prices to PKR 650 per 50-kilogram bag of cement and PKR 126,500 of steel per tonne — prices he deemed unjustifiable.
Chairman Ilyas stated that the construction industry was the second largest job providing sector in the country after the farming sector. He added that this was the reason that the government had been focused on the construction industry in recent months and why it had launched the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP). He urged the government to take action in this regard in order to maintain the country’s recent economic recovery during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Hazafa reveres the art of writing and has been turned into a property enthusiast by profession. Her daily survival kit includes; tea, coffee, keyboard and paperbacks.
