ISLAMABAD, July 5: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has urged the government to allow duty-free import of cement to reduce its rates and save the construction industry from crisis. In a statement on Tuesday, President ICCI Tariq Sadiq said the Monopoly Control Authority was silent on the present increase in cement prices.

He said there was a huge demand of steel, cement and labour. The availability of cheaper construction material would further boost the construction activity and large scale projects would be completed easily.

He said a number of multinational companies had started reconstruction work in Afghanistan, as a result Pakistan’s exports in construction material to that country had increased manifolds.—Our Reporter