STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday elevated the status of the construction sector to that of an industry while announcing incentives for investors and businessmen. While speaking to the media, the premier said that a board will also be formed to address all issues and matters related to the industry. He added that all industries that are connected to construction will continue to function even during the lockdown. He said that the reason he was paying attention to the construction sector was because it generated jobs for daily wage workers, many of whom have lost their income due to the ongoing lockdown. All the people investing in the construction sector this year will not be questioned about their source of income. The tax rate will be fixed for the construction sector, and constructors will be charged tax per square foot or square yard. People carrying out construction in the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme for the poor will only have to pay 10 per cent of the fixed tax.Withholding tax will be waived off for all construction sectors except the formal sectors of steel and cement. Sales tax will be reduced in coordination with provinces.Any family selling their house will not have to pay any capital gains tax. A subsidy of Rs30 billion to be given for the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme. Construction sector to be given the status of an industry.Construction Industry Development Board to be set up to support the sector. The prime minister said that the government aimed to “find a balance” between continuing a lockdown and avoid unemployment. He said that the Western countries had coronavirus on one hand and economic on the other. “In Pakistan, we have corona on one hand and poverty on the other,” he told reporters and added: “You cannot lock up 220 million people.” The premier expressed concerns that if the lockdown continued for long, people would become “desperate and come out on streets. Not only would that lead to a spike in infection rate but also worsen the economic situation.” “We have a challenge on our hands,” he said while responding to a question. “There is corona on one side and hunger on the other. How can we tell a person, who is hungry, to stay inside?” Prime Minister Imran said that Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has also raised similar concerns regarding a lockdown. He further said that the two-month-long lockdown had worked in Wuhan — believed to be the epicentre of the Covid-19 — was because the Chinese government delivered food to people in their homes. He also shone a light on the government’s efforts to provide relief to those who have been affected by the lockdown, saying that thousands of people — who are not already covered by Ehsaas’ Kafalat programme — had already sent Short Messaging Service (SMS) to designated numbers. The data of the people was being checked with Nadra, the premier said, adding that the government had shortlisted only those people who belonged to the “weakest sector” of the society
