LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Industries Sheikh Alauddin has ensured relief to the businessmen of Multan Road and Mcleod Road saying that their issues would be taken up with the Chief Minister Punjab.
He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid, Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid, Vice President Zeshan Khalil, Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry, Bao Bashir, Mian Muhammad Nawaz, Fahim ur Rehman Saigol and Awais Saeed Piracha spoke on the occasion.
Representatives of Multan Road Industrial Association informed the minister that demolition of industries for the sake of Hadyara Drain Project is not a good plan as it would not only deprive thousands of people of their jobs but would also air a negative message to the investors. They said that demolition of industries at Multan road would hit economy of the province hard besides applying reverse gear to the government efforts aimed at progress and prosperity. They said that government should shelve the plan as not only the industry but government would also be the looser as closure of hundreds of industrial units of Multan Road would cause huge lose to the national exchequer in term of taxes and utility bills etc.
The minister said that business community is the backbone of the economy and their issues will be taken up with the Chief Minister Punjab at the earliest.
On the occasion, the LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid formed two committees to settle down the issues of the businessmen of Multan Road and Mcleod Road. The committee for the businessmen of Multan Road will have Sheikh Alaudin, Malik Tahir Javaid, Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry, Shahzad Azam Khan and Tahir Qadeer while the other will have Sheikh Alaudin, Malik Tahir Javaid, Muhammad Talat and Shahzad Khan in their folds.
The LCCI President said that reservations of the business community must be addressed to ensure a business-friendly atmosphere in the country.
He said Punjab is the linchpin of Pakistan’s economy and it has highest contribution in the GDP of the country. The industrial sector of Punjab consists of large scale and small scale manufacturing, mining and construction etc. As per the study recently conducted by LCCI, the share of Punjab in the national value added in Large Scale Manufacturing fell slightly from 49.3% to 48.9% during 2010-11 to 2014-15. However, Punjab has dominating presence in Small Scale Manufacturing with a share of 71% in national value added. Due to consistent boom in construction industry, the share of Punjab has significantly increased from 58% in 2010-11 to 75% in 2014-15.
He said over the course of our economic history, the different experiments with federal and provincial industrial polices led to low industrial growth in Pakistan. Similarly, the industry which is paying its taxes judiciously is facing trust deficit. It is need of the hour to stimulate industrial growth, leading to higher GDP growth.
The LCCI President further stated that the industrial policy of Punjab province should incentivize the industry to move up the technology ladder. It will be even better that the industrial policy should focus on private sector led investment strategy which must lead to greater private investments in mega projects. This would balance the effect of crowding out private sector in terms of getting the bank credit. Furthermore, the banks should arrange sufficient funds for industrial credit rather than focusing more on short term financing to general consumers.
He said that the prices of plots in industrial estates and the opportunity cost of setting up hi-tech industry are fairly high. Foreign investors are taking Pakistan as a case of premature de-industrialization. In this scenario, the government should provide basic infrastructure to private sector on lease so that the pace of industrialization could be increased. Malik Tahir Javaid said that for the swift implementation of these requirements in industrial sector, the discretionary powers of the government officials be curtailed and the role of chambers of commerce and trade associations should be enhanced.
The LCCI President said that many of our members are having industrial units on the main roads of city which were established around Lahore under Rural Industrial Scheme. Our proposal was favourably considered that these industries should be regularized at their existing locations. The Secretary Industries has agreed in this connection and submitted a report to provincial government for approval. We are still waiting for the required notification.
