The government on Friday admitted that the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee drove up prices of petroleum and construction materials. It also said the currency slide added billions of rupees to the estimated costs of mega dam projects.
The information was shared during a National Assembly session, where members were briefed on the figures.
Cement, diesel and steel prices rise sharply
Members were told that cement prices rose by 204 percent. A single bag went from Rs 530 to Rs 1,610 because of the rupee’s fall against the US dollar.
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High-speed diesel rose to Rs 472 per liter due to the currency slide. Steel and iron rod prices increased by 268 percent, from Rs 72,000 to Rs 265,000 per metric ton.
Diamer Bhasha and Dasu dam estimates climb
The House was informed that currency devaluation added hundreds of billions of rupees to revised cost estimates for the Diamer Bhasha Dam and the Dasu Hydropower Project.
The PC-1 cost of the Diamer Bhasha Dam rose from Rs 479 billion to Rs 1,121 billion. The government attributed the Rs 642 billion increase mainly to exchange rate fluctuations. The Dasu project’s estimated cost grew from Rs 486 billion to Rs 1,740 billion, a 258 percent cost overrun.
