KARACHI: The Associa­tion of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) on Tuesday said that the Rs5,000 per tonne increase in steel bar prices will hit the construction industry and Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme (NPHS).

In a statement, ABAD chairman Fayyaz Ilyas urged the government to abolish regulatory duty (RD) and additional regulatory duty (ARD) on import of steel bars to curb prices.

He said the construction industry had been ignored for the last seven decades, but Prime Minister Imran Khan has, for the first time, announced a special package for this key industry crucial for reviving the national economy.

He stated that after construction activities picking up momentum, the manufacturers have multiple times raised prices of steel bars, which is key raw material, thus pushing up overall construction cost.

The new price of iron bars has reached its highest level of Rs142,000 per tonne which is not acceptable, he added.

He said abolishing duties on import of steel bars would stabilise steel bars price and materialise

the dream of the prime minister for providing five million houses for the people belonging to lower strata of society.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2021