Brick kiln industry in doldrums

Currently, more than 80% of brick kilns across the country have been closed down, and many brink kiln owners have switched to doing other businesses.

Brick kilns, which are the backbone of the construction sector, are closing rapidly. According to the kiln owners, the cost of brick production has increased due to the sharp increase in coal prices and the price of petroleum products. At present, the cost of producing 1,000 bricks is Rs11,000 to Rs12,000, but they were sold for Rs9,000 to Rs10,000.

The Secretary-General of the Kiln Owners’ Association, Mehar Abdul Haq, said that the construction sector had been affected due to political and economic instability in the country. Due to which the kiln units were also closing down.

He said that there were 11,000 brick kilns in Punjab, out of which 8,000 have been closed down so far, while the remaining 3,000, which had been somehow managing to keep going, were finding it hard to keep up with the expenses.

Rana Subhan, a kiln owner from Lahore, said that the people were currently buying gold and dollars, slowing down the construction projects or halting them altogether.

He said that there used to be more than 150 workers in his kiln, half of whom were now unemployed.

Rana Subhan said that they could not afford to bear losses which had come to millions of rupees. He said that the government had not given them any relief.

Meanwhile, a 20-member delegation of the Pakistan Kiln Owners Association, led by its head, Shoaib Khan Niazi, called on former prime minister Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence. The delegation inquired after the health of Imran Khan and expressed solidarity with him.

They also informed the former prime minister about the problems and difficulties faced by the brick kiln industry.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2023.