Increase in prices of commodities: Contractors announce to boycott tendering process

MANSEHRA: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government contractors association on Tuesday announced to boycott the tendering process and suspend the execution of the ongoing development projects across the province by June 30.

“In inflation has increased manifold and in this situation we can neither take part in the tendering process nor can we continue work on the ongoing projects,” Malik Riaz, the president of KP government contractors association, told a convention here.

The contractors from across the Hazara division attended the convention.

He also warned the government to revise the existing rates of the construction work with immediate effect, otherwise they would not take part in the bidding process. “We have been waiting till the start of next fiscal year as if rates are not revised we will suspend the work on the ongoing development projects/ schemes across the province,” Riaz said.

He added that the contractors associations’ presidents in Mansehra, Battagram, Haripur, Abbottabad, Torghar, Kolai-Palas, Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan attended the convention to endorse the decision taken by the provincial body.

“The prices of steel, cement and other materials used in the construction have gone up by over 100 percent during the last couple of months and in such a situation we cannot carry on the work on the development projects and schemes,” Riaz said.

Speaking on the occasion, the vice-president of KP contractors association, Arshad Khan, said that hundreds and thousands of the labourers were laid off since prices of the construction materials went up and execution of development projects suspended.