The government’s proposal to establish a Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is a welcome move. Pakistan’s construction sector is too important to the economy to be held back by weak enforcement, fragmented responsibilities and limited accountability. It generates employment and drives demand across more than 40 allied industries, including cement, steel and transport. But before another institution is created, one question needs to be asked: What exactly should the CIDB change?

Pakistan does not lack construction standards, professional requirements or regulatory institutions. The bigger challenge is ensuring that these standards are consistently applied, responsibilities are clearly defined and poor performance has consequences. The country already has the Building Code of Pakistan 2021, along with other construction-related codes developed through the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC). The CIDB should therefore be designed not simply as another licensing or approval authority, but as a platform that brings greater coherence to the sector while working alongside existing institutions rather than duplicating their mandates.

From Rules to Results

The real test of construction regulation is not how many rules exist, but what happens on the ground. Public infrastructure can deteriorate earlier than expected, while projects can face delays, cost pressures and quality concerns. The proposed CIDB should focus on closing this gap between standards and actual results by working with PEC, provincial and local authorities and other relevant institutions to establish clearer responsibilities, consistent standards and stronger monitoring. Its value should ultimately be visible in better-performing projects, not in additional paperwork.

A particularly useful role for CIDB would be to establish a credible system for tracking the performance of contractors and consultants. Registration alone provides limited information. What matters is whether a contractor completes projects on time, maintains required quality and safety standards and delivers assets that perform over their intended life. This record should increasingly influence public procurement: contractors with repeated quality failures should not continue to benefit simply by submitting the lowest bid, while those with a strong record should be recognized. CIDB could also publish clear performance indicators and periodic scorecards, where appropriate, covering project completion, quality, safety, cost performance and defects. Such a system would gradually move the industry from a lowest-price culture........

© The Friday Times