KARACHI: Chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (Abad) Fayyaz Ilyas on Wednesday rejected the Rs11,000 per tonne hike in steel bars price within a span of 15 days.

Urging the federal government to take stern action against what he termed steel manufacturers` cartel, he said the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme would become a distant dream if the `unacceptable` price hike continued.

He called for stabilisation of steel bar prices through the abrogation of Regulatory Duty (RD) and Additional Regulatory Duty (ARD) on steel imports.

`Earlier, steel manufacturers increased the price by Rs5,000 per tonne, taking the price to Rs151,500 per tonne on June 24. After 14 days, they again raised steel bars price by Rs6,000, taking it to a new height of Rs157,500 per tonne, which is not acceptable,` the Abad chairman said.

`The ever-increasing prices of steel bars will make construction costlier and the middle-class will not be able to construct or purchase a home, what to talk of poor people,` he added.-Staff Reporter