LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has agreed to extend full support to Customs Clearing Agents to make Lahore Dry Port profitable again.
LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari, Senior Vice President Mian Tariq Misbah and Vice President Kashif Anwar were talking to a delegation of Lahore Customs Agents Association led by Muhammad Amjad Chaudhry. LCCI former President Muhammad Ali Mian, President of Customs Clearing Agents Association Agha Iftikhar and SVP Ch Abdul Sattar Gujar also spoke on the occasion.
“LCCI would not let the Lahore Dry Port die in loss and would be utilizing all its energies to put it back to business in the larger interest of 4000 families attached with the dry port.”
The LCCI office-bearers said that economic turnaround is directly linked to ease of doing business and the government would have to put in place a consultative economic policy framework for creation of conducive business environment.
They said that complex tax procedures and bureaucratic hurdles had badly affected ease of doing business scenario that needs to be improved in the larger interest of the economy.
“We are fast identifying issues ailing the economy other than the ongoing shortage of electricity and gas. These challenges along with their comprehensive short-term and long-term solutions would be sent to all the departments including Ministries of Commerce and Finance, Federal Board of Revenue and the State Bank of Pakistan.”
They also expressed the resolve to take up the issues of Customs Clearing Agents with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to ensure smooth functioning at all ports.
The LCCI office-bearers said that they were well aware of the fact that Customs Clearing Agents were facing multiple challenges and would be putting their best efforts to get them resolved at the earliest.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation Chaudhry Muhammad Amjad sought their help to operationalise Lahore Dry Port that has become dormant because of non-arrival of freight trains.
Ch Amjad informed the LCCI office-bearers that there was a time when 70 to 100 freight trains were used to arrive at Lahore Dry Port, providing huge revenue to the government but today the situation is totally different as some people having vested interests wanted to fail this model dry port.
He urged the LCCI office-bearers to invite Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and discuss with him this important issue of national importance.
