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Industrialization is gaining momentum in Pakistan: Prime Minister

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Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Wednesday that industrialization had gained momentum in the country as the government had successfully reined in the most ticklish problem of energy shortage. Addressing the members of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) soon after performing the groundbreaking ceremony of car assembly plant of Hyundai Nishat Motor (Pvt) Ltd in M-3 Industrial city near here, he said the government had fulfilled its commitment to overcome electricity and gas shortage and now its focus was to cut the cost of doing business, particularly for the industrial sector. Underlining the importance of industrialization, he said that private sector had to play its role for the establishment of new industrial units as government had ensured continuous supply of gas and electricity.

“We are now concentrating to make energy affordable for industry” he said adding its cost had been increased due to ill-conceived policies of previous governments. He said the government would facilitate the private sector by providing them best possible infrastructure in the shape of state-of-the-art industrial estates, motorways, etc. Regarding construction of new civil airport, the prime minister said that he would talk to Punjab Government to allocate land for it. He said that industrialists should undertake the project as commercial venture and the Expo Center should be completed as a business adventure.

He appreciated Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and said he had done excellent work for uplift and development of the province and other provinces should follow suit. The prime minister said the government was trying to introduce a tax-payer-friendly culture in the FBR in addition to making tax procedure simple and easy. He said that Pakistan had huge export potential but it was restricted to only $ 20 billion. “We must make collaborative efforts to increase our exports up to $ 50-60 billion per annum.”

Commenting on the increased trade deficit, the prime minister said that it was due to the import of machinery for power and other sectors. Regarding Regulatory Duty, he said that federal minister for commerce and textile was reviewing it, however, “We have to discourage import of unnecessary luxury items.” The prime minister said the government was also focusing on improvement of small and medium enterprise sector, adding that a strategy was being evolved to reorganize powerloom sector on modern scientific lines. He asked the FCCI President to pinpoint their problems along with viable solutions to enable the government to resolve these issues without any delay. He said that next general election would be held in July 2018.

FCCI President Shabbir Hussain Chawla presented the welcome address and demanded the establishment of state-of-the-art Expo Centre in Faisalabad and construction of an international airport. Earlier, FCCI momentum was presented to the Prime Minister by FCCI President Shabbir Hussain Chawla. Governor Punjab Malik Muhammad Rafiq Rajwana, Federal Minister for Commerce and Textiles Pervez Malik, State Minister for Power Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali, State Minister for Communication Muhammad Junaid Anwaar Chaudhry, State Minister for Interior Talal Badar Chaudhry, Federal Parliamentary Secretary Rana Afzal and Mian Muhammad Idrees former President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and Chief Executive Officer Sitara Chemical Industries were also present on the occasion.

Posted on: 2017-12-21T11:40:00+05:00