Chinese building and construction material can bring a revolution in Pakistan: PCJCCI chief

Lahore: Introduction of cost effective, space efficient and environment friendly Chinese building and construction material can bring a revolution to the construction sector of Pakistan.

President Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) President Moazzam Ghurki stated this in the joint chambers’ executive committee meeting held at its secretariat on Tuesday afternoon.

Ghurki said that experts from Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) had reviewed the local construction and a growth of six per cent had been reported this year.

He stressed that the sector would grow by a whopping 92 per cent in the next seven years as the average annual growth could spike up to 11.8 per cent. However, what they saw in 2021 which was an accelerated growth in the construction sector and its resulting contribution to the GDP was achieved through increased government concessions and aggressive private sector investment under the previous government. That environment was needed to drive growth within the industry to achieve this forecasted growth in next seven years.

He added that there was a dire need to stabilise the construction sector through introducing contemporary techniques and budget friendly infrastructure of China.

He emphasised that with more mega-projects coming in along with a series of works under CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), it is expected that the rating would improve in the coming years.

PCJCCI Senior Vice President Fang Yulong said that the Chinese entrepreneurs were encouraged to find out tremendous possibilities of investment and joint ventures in Pakistan in the field of construction industry. This was the time to transform the good historic ties into thriving trade and economic relations between the two countries.

He further said that in order to nurture the industry, China had planned to inculcate modern trends of construction and housing among the common masses. With the involvement of general public, he added, the trends and standards of modern construction would start to reflect in other segments of society.

Vice President Hamza Khalid said, “We welcome Chinese investors to review joint venture opportunities in the construction industry that would further supplement other related industries such as cement, iron, steel, timber, wood, marbles, tiles and stones, plastics, fibers, furniture and electrical appliances.”Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General, said that without appropriate measures to do with laws and standards in place within the construction industry, the desired growth within high-rise building construction would not be possible. With the current adverse effects felt by the construction industry as a result of the inflation and unstable economy, it was crucial that the architectural industry moved towards sustainable building and planning practices.