KARACHI: Mian Zahid Hussain, president of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, has said that a special construction financing system should be established to address the gap of long-term and low-cost financing.
He also called for a digital one-window approval system, improvements in tax policy, faster land and building approvals, digitization of land records and reduction in duties on construction materials.
He said government incentives should focus on affordable housing, vertical urban development, green buildings, earthquake-proof construction, locally produced construction materials and the adoption of modern technologies.
Mian Zahid Hussain, who is also the chairman of the National Business Group Pakistan and the Policy Advisory Board of the FPCCI, said that Pakistan must now view the construction sector not merely as a real-estate activity but as a multiplier for industrial growth.
With construction growing by 5.7 percent and domestic cement demand increasing significantly, timely reforms could strengthen employment generation, investment, innovation, dozens of allied industries and overall economic growth.
He welcomed Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement of a comprehensive development package for Pakistan’s construction sector.
He said that effective and timely reforms could transform Pakistan’s construction sector into a major engine of economic growth, employment generation and industrial activity.
He further said that the government’s proposals for the establishment of a Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), the possible establishment of a Construction Development Bank (CDB), improvement in trade policies and tax reforms were timely and important.
The proposed framework also included extending the defect liability period to improve the quality and accountability of public sector projects.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the construction sector had been moving towards recovery.
According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26, the construction sector grew by 5.7 percent during FY2025-26.
This progress was particularly important because construction had direct link with more than 40 allied and related industries.
He said cement sales data also confirmed the improvement in the domestic construction activity.
During FY2025-26, total cement dispatches increased by 7.2 percent to 50.5 million tonnes.
Domestic cement sales increased even faster.
The positive trend continued into the new fiscal year, as total cement dispatches reached 4.476 million tonnes in July 2026.
Domestic cement sales recorded a significant 17.3 percent increase.
Mian Zahid Hussain expressed his concern over the decline in cement exports by 30 percent to 705,341 tonnes, highlighting the high cost of doing business and the need to improve global competitiveness of Pakistan’s cement industry.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the current recovery in the construction sector should not be limited to temporary incentives but should be converted into long-term structural reforms.
With the federal Public Sector Development Programme at around Rs1 trillion for FY2026-27, greater private sector participation in housing, commercial development and infrastructure would be essential.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Comments