Soomro for employing latest techniques in construction
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro Tuesday emphasized upon the need for capacity building in various disciplines of the construction sector to improve the standards and quality of work.
He said the boom in the construction sector is directly related to the economic growth, therefore, the contractors and builders need to employ better quality of equipment and modern techniques to cope up with the needs.
Talking to a delegation of All Pakistan Contractor’s Association (APCA) which called on him here, the Prime Minister said the role of construction industry is significant in the infrastructure development and the government would continue to extend necessary support for proper growth of this sector.
The Prime Minister said quality output in the construction sector would help the contractors to win contracts overseas and open up opportunities for the expansion of the industry.
However, he said to sustain in the international market our contractors would need persistent efforts to maintain the standards and follow the international best practices. While listening to the problems of the Association, he directed that till the time any specific Ministry is able to look after issues of this sector and added the Planning Division will continue to look after the problems related to construction industry.
Earlier, Chairman of All Pakistan Contractors Association, Engr. Shahid Rafiq apprised the Prime Minister about the problems of the contractors and stressed for need to implement the bidding documents already agreed by all the stakeholders. He said this would help solve 80 per cent of the problems of the construction industry and ensure maintenance of required standards of construction. The delegation informed the Prime Minister that contractors/builders are being pursued to become members of the APTA.
This, they mentioned would help to maintain a proper code of construction in all fields since APTA would verify the credentials and also make it incumbent upon its members to ensure quality. The delegation asked for government’s support in their efforts since the construction sector is linked to PSDP, which directly affects the lives of the people.