Issues and Problems of Pakistan’s Construction Industry

Pakistan's construction industry has persistently encountered difficulties and problems, when it
came to completing high-quality projects for the public and private sectors These problems
include financial limitations, experts who lack the necessary expertise, a lack of resources, etc.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the main industries to halt operations and
suspend production, the problems have gotten worse. This led to increased project delays, labour
and material shortages, and limitations in logistics and transportation.
The most difficult issues that Pakistan's building sector had to deal with both before and after
COVID-19 are discussed below.
Financial Issues
Construction projects in Pakistan are hampered and development is slowed down by problems
with the country's finances. Growth in the building business is limited by the lack of financial
resources. Procedures for disbursement and payments are known to be laborious, especially in
the public sector, and to be difficult and time-consuming. International enterprises are
discouraged from entering the market by the high cost of doing business and the numerous taxes
that are paid on almost everything. The same demotivation is felt by residents who desire to take
the initiative but hesitate because of these financial circumstances and taxation. The contractor is
allowed to stop working because of the payment delays.
Quality Management Issues
Quality in the construction industry has long been a problem in Pakistan. It has been reflected in
certain serious accidents in the past like collapse of high rise building in Islamabad during an
earthquake in 2008, collapse of a highway bridge in Karachi a few years ago, to name the few.
Apart from these two cases of public importance, there are numerous accidents that had arisen
out of poor quality in construction but could not be reported. The quality issue in Pakistan
though exists generally, it is more prevalent in public sector projects than the private sector ones.
Sudden Increase in Construction Material Cost
In Pakistan, the markets and the materials used in the building sector are likewise unstable and
volatile. Political parties change control of government so frequently that no party's decisions
remain in effect for very long, which creates uncertainty for customers, vendors, and the whole
sector. Governments don't only continuously change; they also don't stick with their decisions for
very long since their own policies are always evolving. In addition to making it more difficult to
estimate project costs, the quick variations in the cost of construction-related goods also make it
extremely difficult for contractors to manage their cash flow.
Safety Implementation Issues
Despite the Pakistani construction industry’s recent rapid growth and development, workers are
still working in poor safety conditions. While Pakistan has several occupational safety and health
laws, they are too broad to be applied directly to the construction industry. Due to the presence
of a weak regulatory system, worker safety is not a principal focus of the construction industry.
This paper presents a case study that was conducted to help improve the existing construction
safety situation in Pakistan by developing a framework for better implementation of safety
practices and thus bridging the safety related perceptual gaps between the different stakeholders
and regulatory authorities.
Delay in Shop Drawings' Approval
As is well known, no project has turned out exactly as it was intended or planned. During the project
execution phase, a modification may be required at any time. Through shop drawings and change
orders, the clients' consultants and the modifications must be accepted. The competence of individuals
concerned causes Pakistan to experience delays in the approval of specified shop designs. It is well
known that customers frequently can't be reached, reached, or even scheduled an appointment with.
The delays continue, which affects both the project's cost and timetable.
Shortage of Construction Materials
In particular, during and after COVID-19, the production of basic materials like cement, steel,
and bricks are less.  The workers were granted breaks, the plants were closed, and business
ceased. Because of this, COVID-19 activities have been paused and raw materials for current
projects are in limited supply. Even if other projects and clients did not have a limited budget,
they were forced to suspend their activities since there were no more resources on the market.
Lack of Human Resource
Companies were forced to provide employees breaks and provide isolation when COVID-19 first
started to spread in Pakistan. In addition to this, the contractors had to give their workers breaks
and send them on vacation because there was no work to be done due of the significant delays
caused by the lack of materials and transportation problems. In addition to the contractors' side,
the industrial sector also lacked workers, which contributed to the slow or lacking manufacture
of materials.
Increased Project Cost
A few recognized variables, such as the costlier materials and COVID-19 test processes, have
driven up the project's cost. The fluctuating currency rates and the rise in supply demand are to
blame for the higher material price. Additionally, COVID-19 test processes have increased the
company's costs. The cost of project supplies skyrocketed. Due to the closure of numerous
stores, raw supplies were also difficult to come by during the lockdown. Similar to this, when
site work had to be suspended during a lockdown, the companies were responsible for paying for
the costs of foreign workers, including their food, lodging, and COVID-19 screening tests, as the
majority of these workers were unable to travel back to their home countries due to restrictions
on the airline industry and closed borders.
Project Timeline
Project Timeline is a schedule of project work from starting until the expected time completion
of construction work. One of the major consequences of COVID-19 was delays in construction
projects deadlines mainly due to lockdowns and closing of borders. The change of project
timeline happened because construction activity had stopped during lockdown period that caused
project delay. When the construction industry was opened the workers also need to follow SOP
at construction sites that slow the progress of the project. The second factor that creates changes
in the project timeline is the late approval by authorities including CDA etc. which offices were
closed during the COVID-19 hence creating a backlog in the process.
Transportation of Construction Goods
The government severely restricted the movement of goods during COVID-19 and only permitted the
transport of necessities. Even though there weren't many businesses or factories functioning at the
time, the transportation of these materials was constrained, which significantly slowed down existing
projects.

References
 https://www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/
ORF_OccasionalPaper_251_COVID19-Pakistan.pdf
 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/PROBLEMS-OF-PROJECTS-AND-EFFECTS-OF-DELAYS-IN-
THE-Haseeb-Lu/19795be55859a7eddba90ff2fdc6ec13c54b6403
 https://tribune.com.pk/story/2348780/construction-activities-slowing-down
 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ashfaque-Jhatial/publication/
341776041_Financial_Issues_in_Project_Schedule_of_the_Construction_Industry_in_Pakistan
 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Engr-Jafri/publication/
267363908_Construction_Safety_Culture_and_Promotion_Conceptual_approach_based_on_th
e_Labor_Law_of_Pakistan
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY ISLLAMABAD
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Construction Management
Assignment No 3

Submitted by: Waqar Ahmad F18601004

Submitted to: Lec. Ali Tariq
Date: 15/07/2022