KARACHI: Over 60 percent of Pakistan’s construction activities have come to a standstill following an unprecedented increase in the rates of basic building material amid rising global commodity prices, industrial stakeholders said on Thursday.
According to an estimate by Pakistani builders, the prices of steel, cement and other construction material increased by more than 70 percent due to the rising freight costs, weaker rupee and surge in local demand.
“The prices of all raw materials have increased by more than 70 percent during the last one year,” Mohsin Shaikhani, chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan, told Arab News. “About 50 to 60 percent of construction activities in the country have come to a standstill.”
Shaikhani added the overall construction cost had gone up from about Rs2,500 to Rs4,000 square feet across the country.
Pakistan’s construction sector contributed about Rs794 billion to the gross domestic product in FY20.
The building activities during the same period increased by 8.1 percent due to the government support and uptick in investment by the private sector, according to a report by the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency.
The construction sector absorbs about 7.6 percent of the country’s total labor force and provides stimulus to over 40 allied industries.
The country’s public sector development program primarily drives the construction demand since it allows the government to spend on mega projects like highways, bridges and other infrastructure development programs.
The companies working on the public sector projects said they were the main victims of price escalation since they had to stop construction work on multiple schemes.
“About 90 percent work on the projects across Pakistan has come to a standstill due to frequent price escalation of building material,” Saeed Ahmed Mughal, secretary information of Karachi Contractors Association, a representative body of companies mainly working on government projects, said. “Only those who have material in their stock are currently active.”
“It is very difficult for constructors to match the current expenses with what they had quoted during the bidding process,” he continued. “We want the federal and provincial authorities to factor in price escalations before we resume our work.”
The price escalation has also impacted the estimates of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s flagship Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme which aims to build five million units for low- and middle-income segments.
Pakistan is currently facing a housing backlog of 11 to 12 million units.
“The low-cost housing projects are in a difficult situation,” said Shaikhani. “The valuation of a house which was worked out at Rs3 million initially has increased to Rs4.5 million.”
Chairman of Naya Pakistan Housing Task Force Zaigham Mahmood Rizvi agreed the construction sector was facing challenges due to the rising rates of building material.
“The developers and builders have been telling us it is difficult to construct a house according to their earlier estimates,” Rizvi said.
He added, however, the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority was trying to come up with a solution.
“The negotiations for the revaluation [of projects] are going on,” he informed.
The price of steel, a key building material used for construction, has increased by 85 percent since March 2020, and it is currently trading around Rs192,000 per ton due to the short supply.
Rizvi maintained the operationalization of the country’s two steel mills – the Pakistan Steel and Tuwairqi Steel Mills that was set up by a Saudi group – was likely to provide some relief to the construction sector.
Some Pakistani traders expect reduction in steel price in the coming months, hoping it would also spur construction activities.
“The international market is showing some corrections and if the impact is passed on to consumers in Pakistan it will reduce the price to about Rs30,000 per ton within the next three months,” Shammon Baqir Ali, chairman of Karachi Iron and Steel Merchants Association, said while talking to Arab News.
The Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority did not respond to queries regarding the progress on low-cost housing units and possible policy measures to rescue the troubled construction sector.
Pakistani builders say 60 percent construction projects on standstill amid rising material costs
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Pakistani builders say 60 percent construction projects on standstill amid rising material costs
- Industrial stakeholders blame an overall surge in global commodity prices, higher freight charges and weaker rupee for escalating building material rates
- The increase in prices has also impacted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s low-cost housing projects under the Naya Pakistan scheme
PCB moves tri-series to Lahore and Karachi to indicate readiness for Champions Trophy
- Pakistan is scheduled to play tri-nation ODI series at home against South Africa, New Zealand in February
- Series moved from Multan due to advanced stage of preparations at Lahore and Karachi stadiums, says PCB
BENGALURU: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has relocated February’s tri-nation One-Day International (ODI) series with New Zealand and South Africa from Multan to Lahore and Karachi, two cities set to host the Champions Trophy later in the month.
The PCB said the move was due to the advanced stage of preparations at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Stadium, which will host six of the 12 Champions Trophy group stage matches.
Lahore will also host one semifinal as well as the final provided India, who are playing all their matches in Dubai following an agreement that neither India nor Pakistan will visit each other’s countries for ICC tournament matches, do not qualify.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will also host three matches of the eight-team tournament.
The PCB is upgrading the facilities at all three venues in the country as Pakistan prepares to host an ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, when they co-hosted the ODI World Cup.
The tri-series will be played from Feb. 8-14, while the Champions Trophy will kick off on Feb. 19 in Karachi, with defending champions Pakistan playing New Zealand.
Pakistani health authorities confirm last polio case of 2024, bringing last year’s tally to 69
- Wild poliovirus type 1 case has been confirmed in Tank district of northwestern KP province
- The health ministry says the case was originally identified in 2024, as per its control room
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has confirmed another case of poliovirus in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, health authorities said on Wednesday, identifying it as the last case of 2024, as it was detected last month, bringing the nationwide tally for the year to 69.
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide high immunity against the disease.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad confirmed the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case in KP’s Tank district, marking the fifth case reported from the district in 2024.
“On Jan. 7, the lab confirmed a case from Tank,” the health ministry said in a statement. “Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 [in 2024] with 69 cases reported so far.”
It said in a separate message it was counting the new case along with the ones that emerged last year since “it was isolated/detected in 2024 as per the control room.”
The Pakistan Polio Program organizes several mass vaccination campaigns annually, delivering the vaccine directly to people’s doorsteps.
On Jan. 6, Pakistan concluded a week-long anti-polio drive in southwestern Balochistan, which reported the highest tally of 27 cases last year.
The health ministry said the first nationwide polio campaign of this year is scheduled to take place from Feb. 3-9, urging the parents to ensure the safety of their children by welcoming the vaccinators.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.
Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccination teams.
In the early 1990s, the country reported around 20,000 cases annually, but in 2018, the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Fakhar Zaman confident of returning for Pakistan at the Champions Trophy
- Zaman criticized the PCB before Babar Azam was rested for two England Test matches
- PCB also issued a show-cause notice over Zaman’s social media post supporting Azam
ISLAMABAD: Fakhar Zaman is confident of returning to international cricket after eight months when Pakistan hosts next month’s Champions Trophy.
Fakhar hasn’t played international cricket since Pakistan’s first-round exit from the T20 World Cup last June and subsequently missed out on central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board for the first time in eight years.
“People don’t know that after the T20 World Cup I got sick,” Fakhar explained to the Vipers Voices podcast as he prepared to play ILT20 for Desert Vipers in the United Arab Emirates. “I was not part of the team because of my medical condition, but now [I’m] 100 percent [sure] I will play for Pakistan.”
The veteran opening batter made headlines when he criticized the national cricket administration just before Babar Azam was controversially rested for the final two home test matches against England late last year due to his inconsistent form in red-ball cricket. The PCB issued Fakhar a show cause notice for his social media post in favor of Babar.
The post didn’t go down well with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also expressed concerns over Fakhar’s fitness.
“It cannot happen like that if selection committee is not playing one player, then other players start tweeting to express their displeasure,” Naqvi told reporters at the time. “Players are not allowed to function like this, and we will never allow that. The main issue with [Fakhar] is his fitness test, that he was not able to clear.”
In the absence of Fakhar, Pakistan won three away ODI series over the last two months, beating Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa under the captaincy of new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan.
Back home, Fakhar returned to competitive cricket during the domestic Champions Cup T20 tournament last month and was the third highest-scorer with 303 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 132.31.
“The plan was to get fully fit and play in the Champions Trophy,” Fakhar said. “I am lucky to be fit right now. I started from the Champions Trophy 2017 and that went really well for me. Now I am very excited for the next edition also.”
Fakhar had a memorable tournament in 2017 when he scored a match-winning century in the final against India.
Pakistan’s latest white-ball sensation, Saim Ayub, made two ODI centuries in South Africa before he fractured his right ankle during the second test at Cape Town last week. Ayub has been ruled out of competitive cricket for at least six weeks, putting his participation in doubt for the Champions Trophy.
The PCB flew Ayub to London from Cape Town on Monday for treatment, and Fakhar said he hoped Ayub recovers in time as Pakistan prepares to host its first major ICC tournament next month in 29 years.
“I hope he [Ayub] will recover quickly,” Fakhar said. “I was thinking to call Saim yesterday, just to talk to him about this injury. Believe me, he is such a great player that if he continues to play for the next four-five years, he will be among the top three players in the world.”
Fakhar will be playing for Desert Vipers in the ILT20 and was the top target for Tom Moody, who is director of cricket with the franchise. Fakhar said he was excited to play alongside West Indies T20 captain Sherfane Rutherford.
“He is one of the best cricketers in the T20 format and I really enjoy seeing him batting,” he said. “I am very excited to be part of this team, and I want to share the crease with him. He is one of the best players, so I am very excited to play with him.”
Iraqi envoy calls for joint security efforts with Pakistan on national army’s 104th anniversary
- Ambassador Lafta attended a ceremony as chief guest at the National Counter Terrorism Center in Pabbi
- Pakistan and Iraq have strengthened defense ties in recent years, cooperating in the fight against militancy
ISLAMABAD: Iraqi Ambassador to Pakistan Hamid Abbas Lafta emphasized the need for joint security efforts to combat militancy during a ceremony marking the 104th anniversary of his country’s national army, according to Pakistan’s military media wing on Wednesday.
Pakistan and Iraq have strengthened ties in recent years through defense cooperation, with Islamabad providing training to Iraqi security forces. In 2014, Iraq procured Super Mushak trainer aircraft from Pakistan to bolster defense relations between the two Muslim-majority nations.
Lafta attended the ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Iraqi army as the chief guest at the National Counter Terrorism Center in Pabbi, Sarai Alamgir, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
“The Iraqi ambassador stressed the importance of joint security and counter-terrorism efforts between Iraq and Pakistan,” it said in a statement.
During his speech, Lafta praised the sacrifices made by the Iraqi army in the fight against militancy and emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation between Pakistan and Iraq.
He highlighted the importance of security collaboration between the two countries and commended their joint efforts in combating militancy. Lafta called for further cooperation to benefit the people of both nations, expressing his commitment to forge a “united front” in the fight against extremism.
The Iraqi envoy also pledged to work with Pakistan for regional peace and to strengthen the friendship between the two countries.
Last year in August, Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, met Iraq’s Secretary of Defense, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Dawood Salman, to discuss enhancing defense and security cooperation between the two states.
A few months before, in May, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif met Lafta, seeking greater cooperation in all fields of mutual interest, particularly in defense.
Qatar Airways denies reports of office closures in Pakistan
- The airline says flights to and from Pakistan have been operating as per schedule
- Local media had claimed Qatar Airways had shut down offices in Pakistani cities
KARACHI: Qatar Airways on Wednesday denied media reports claiming it was shutting down operations in Pakistan and saying its “offices remain open.”
The airline, Qatar’s national carrier, was founded in 1993 and is wholly owned by the State of Qatar. Operating from its hub at Hamad International Airport in Doha, it has become one of the world’s leading airlines, known for its modern fleet, luxurious amenities, and extensive route network.
The clarification followed local media reports and statements from travel agents earlier this week, alleging that Qatar Airways had closed its offices and call centers across Pakistan, even as flights continued to operate on schedule.
“Qatar Airways flights to and from Pakistan are operating as usual and our offices remain open,” the airline said in a post on X. “Recent published reports claiming that Qatar Airways has closed offices in Pakistan are incorrect.”
Qatar Airways began operations in Pakistan in 1994, the year the airline was established.
Initially, it started flying to Karachi, but it has expanded its services to other major Pakistani cities, including Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar, since then.
The airline offers both domestic and international connections.
