Import of cement via land route demanded

Abdul Rauf, president of the Pakistan Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), has asked the government to allow the import of cement from India and Iran for the reconstruction of million of houses destroyed in the earthquake. He said the import from India should be allowed through the land route. The ICCI president said the horrible earthquake had caused widespread devastation and there was an urgent need of thousand of tons of cement for reconstruction. He asked Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to take immediate steps for import of duty-free cement from neighboring countries.

Mr Rauf said due to construction activities in Afghanistan there was great demand for cement. The demand for cement was also on the rise due to developmental works at home. He claimed the cement manufactures were indulging in profiteering. He demanded of government to include people from the private sector in the MCA to break the monopoly of cement manufacturers.

“The demand for cement is to increase for reconstruction of destroyed, but cement manufacturers do not seem to lower their prices, so the government should allow duty-free import of cement,” Mr Rauf said.