Islamabad June 2 2022: Construction activity in Pakistan to take a hit as Federal government has freeze released of funds for development budget in a time when private sector is already facing the heat of higher commodity prices and rising interest rates.
Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal directed that all budgets should be spent on fruitful projects only. He said that key performance indicators should be formulated for each project. The plans will be scrutinized later.
“Never in the 75-year history of Pakistan has funds been released in the fourth quarter. Even after the fall of Dhaka or the sanctions imposed as a result of the nuclear blasts, the country has not suffered as much as it is facing today.” Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal
In order to cool down demand, State Bank of Pakistan has increased policy rate from a low of 7.00% to 13.75% in a period of less than 10 months.
Cement producers in Pakistan sold 44.3Mt of cement in the first 10 months of the 2022 Pakistani financial year, which runs from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, down by 8.2% year-on-year from 48.3Mt in the corresponding period of 2021.
The same has been reflected in the share price of cement and steel sector stocks. Lucky Cement share price drop 33.02% since start of the current calendar year. Share price of DG Khan Cement decline by 29.05%, Power Cement by 16.04%, Pioneer Cement 34.08%, Attock Cement by 42.18% and Fauji Cement by 19.11%.
