The construction industry saw a massive boom during the last two years, with a worthwhile increase in residential and commercial projects. Despite the pandemic shutting down the world in 2020, the government of Pakistan made a smart move to introduce construction-related incentives which helped the construction and the real estate sectors to survive and thrive despite troublesome times.
However, this prodigious construction activity also resulted in an excruciating increase in the price of construction material at large and in steel prices in particular. This is a common phenomenon in Pakistan whenever any sector shows progressive growth the prices jump, rather than providing relief to the masses to contribute to its growth.
Experts associate a number of factors with this increase like depreciation of rupee against the dollar, decrease in import, coupled with massive demand at the national level and the increasing prices of steel in the global market.
The Prime Minister has created a special committee to address the problem of rising steel prices. The committee consists of eminent stakeholders from the private sector and also notables from the government including the Minister for Industries, Chairman of Federal Board of Revenue and the Chairman of Naya Pakistan Housing Development Authority. The Prime Minister is also holding regular meetings with prominent members to ensure nothing hinders the process of reviving the country’s economic growth.
A real estate expert in an exclusive interview on a private TV channel gave a very good suggestion that if you are constructing your house on a budget, it would be advisable to halt the projects temporarily as the government is self-regulating the sector and results seem to be coming in shortly. Another way is to allow the import of steel with a “no-duty” to stabilize the local prices as demand has increased with less capacity to meet it resulting in a surge in the cost of steel.
ADNAN ALI MUGHAL,
Islamabad.