KARACHI: Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) has termed the steel bars price hike as a conspiracy against the PM's Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme (NPHS). ABAD in a statement said that the prices of raw material for steel manufacturing were low but the steel manufacturers increased the steel bar price by Rs 2000 per ton to Rs 120500 per ton, which the association considers as conspiracy not only against the construction industry which provided livelihood to thousands of skilled and unskilled workers but also against the PM's Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

With this increase in price, the construction cost is estimated to jump by 1.5 percent as it shares 40 percent cost of total materials in a high rise building while the share of steel in residential units is 20-25 percent, ABAD said.

The association urged the authorities concerned to take remedial measures to curb cartelization in order to turn the PM Imran Khan's dream to provide five million low cost houses to the people into reality.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020