ABAD irked by current political scenario

Chairman says investors hesitant about making decisions.


September 18, 2014

KARACHI: Current political unrest in the country has adversely affected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the housing and construction industry and it is currently one of the biggest hurdles to its revival, Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) Chairman Mohsin Sheikhani said.

He said Pakistan had already suffered enormously during the last few weeks, and investors are hesitant and skeptical about making investment decisions. “Everything is literally at a standstill, things are so vague. People are waiting for the situation to get clear on the political front before making major decisions,” he stressed.

Construction companies from the UAE, Singapore, China and Turkey had shown interest in investing in Pakistan, but the current political upheaval has caused problems for them.

“Some companies from UAE had been keen on investing in the country, with even bigger investments expected from Singaporean, Chinese and Turkish companies, but now things seem dubious.”

Representatives of ABAD, an association of over 700 builders and developers all over the country, are confident that changes in various laws will bring about positive changes for the sector.

Game changing domestic developments

While external factors are not encouraging for the housing and construction industry, the ABAD chairman said that there are some positive developments on the domestic front that have helped boost the confidence of investors.

The foremost development is the formation of a special board in Sindh comprising of utility companies, law enforcing agencies and builders to take important decisions for the construction industry.

The legislation for this board is expected to be completed within the next two months with the help of Sindh Building Control Authority. The board will identify lands in slums (katchi abadis) where high-rise buildings can be built to provide housing to slum dwellers and reduce congestions in big cities.

“The builders and developers in Karachi can reduce housing backlog by building high rise buildings. This will not only provide respectable living to slum dwellers but will also eliminate the shanty towns which have lately been the breeding ground for criminals and criminal activity,” Sheikhani said. Another important development is the swift action of police in Sindh especially in Karachi against land grabbers, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2014.

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