PALSP rejects ABAD statement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) on Monday slammed Association of Builders & Developers (ABAD) statement that a hike in the rate of rebars was as a conspiracy against Prime Minister’s Naya Pakistan Housing Project.

“The Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme (NPHS) and the set of incentives given to the construction industry were visionary initiatives taken by the honorable PM to provide affordable housing and churn the economy,” PALSP said in a statement.

“However, the biggest barrier to affordable housing is the real estate builders and developers themselves.” The steelmakers said prices of homes, apartments and office spaces –particularly in urban areas, had increased significantly over the past few years due to an increasing appetite of real estate developers for high margins.

“With some of the highest net profits and returns on equity margins across industries, the need of the hour is the government regulations to fix the pricing of various categories of real estate projects whether it be residential or commercial development.”

Since there was very little transparency in the real estate development sector, the government should audit the income tax contribution of such lucrative ventures, the PALSP statement said.