KARACHI, Feb 16: Builders and contractors of Pakistan and Turkey have reached an understanding to work jointly in the reconstruction and rehabilitation in the worn-torn Afghanistan.

A meeting of Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) and Chairman of Turkish-Pakistan Business Council (TPBC), Sait Gonen held at the FPCCI head office on Saturday to discuss at length the possibilities of carving out sizable share in Afghanistan’s reconstruction process. Sait is the Chief Executive Officer of STFA Construction Group in Turkey.

Chairman, ABAD, Hafeez Butt told Dawn after the meeting that both sides agreed to make interaction jointly and Turkey will depend on Pakistan which is a gateway to Afghanistan.

He, however, admitted that the situation in Afghanistan is still not clear and so far neither any contracts have been awarded nor tender enquiries for construction have been received from Afghanistan.

But, he said, both sides including All Pakistan Contractor Association (APCA) have mutually agreed to work jointly as soon as calm prevails in Afghanistan and any tender enquiries arrive.

A paper of Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) says that it is a clear fact that the necessary construction work in Afghanistan should be done productively with due regard to value for money as the envisaged international aid would possibly not be enough to cover the cost of overall reconstruction and other building needs arising from the former administration’s long neglect.

According to TCA, Turkish contractors are following the developments related to Afghanistan closely. They believe that with their experience in the region, with their existing establishment and machine parks in nearby countries, they could contribute to future projects in Afghanistan in a productive way.

Preparations for the Turkish-Afghan Business Council has been started in Turkey and by now 42 firms have applied for the membership, more than half of them being construction companies, TCA said.

The chairman, Pakistan Turkish Business Council of the FPCCI, Amjad Rafi said that Turkey has so far invested $1.6 billion in different projects in Pakistan and prominent among them are Lahore by-pass project, two sections of Indus Highway, berths at the Karachi Port and Islamabad-Peshawar motorway.