Construction uplift package being studied

According to The Express Tribune, Senator Ahad Cheema, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, presided over a meeting on reforms spanning regulation, operations and finance in construction. Attendees included the Minister of State for Finance, the federal housing secretary and leaders of the Construction Association of Pakistan. The government is weighing a wider development package that would create a Construction Industry Development Board, assess a dedicated Construction Development Bank, rationalise import and export rules and introduce targeted tax reforms.

Cheema said the proposed board would combine sector development with regulation of standards, contractors and consultants, and its members would come from both public and private sectors. The government will soon extend the standard Defect Liability Period for public projects from one year to three years, with a further extension to five years planned. Consultants, who currently face no penalty mechanism, will come under the board's direct oversight so they face legal and financial liability for design errors.

The Construction Association of Pakistan endorsed the accountability proposals, and the discussion touched on banking hurdles for financial and performance guarantees. Cheema asked Bilal Azhar Kayani, the state minister for finance, to start formal talks with the State Bank of Pakistan and the Pakistan Banks Association, and any decision on the CDB will depend on their feedback. The framework will then be forwarded to the premier for sign-off, the minister said.