ISLAMABAD: The business community is playing an important role in generating economic activities, and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) will fully cooperate in resolving the key issues of the businessmen.
This was said by Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi, Deputy Mayor Islamabad, while addressing the business community at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He said efforts will be made to form a joint committee comprising representatives of ICCI and MCI/CDA to review the high cost on the construction of additional floors in markets.
He said the MCI will launch an awareness campaign to educate the citizens about the importance of land designing and well-designed constructions. He further said the business community should consider building multi-storey parking plazas on public-private partnership basis to cope with the parking issues in the markets. He agreed that there should be only one agency to regulate the businesses as regulation by multiple agencies is creating problem for business community. He said the issue of stamp paper value and other highlighted issues will be taken up with the relevant authorities.
Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Amir Waheed, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said more than 90 percent issues of the traders and industrialists are related to the CDA and MCI and both organizations should cooperate in addressing the issues to facilitate the growth of business activities.
He said the CDA had agreed in principal to allow additional floors in the markets, but very high charges have been imposed due to which construction of such floors is not a viable option. He emphasized that the CDA should reduce these charges in consultation with the ICCI.
He said eight agencies are regulating the businesses in the federal capital due to which businessmen are facing many problems, so there should be only one agency for this purpose. He said the MCI and CDA should pay urgent attention to resolve the Melody Food Park issues as businesses are closing there due to no resolution of the problems.
Muhammad Naveed, Senior Vice-President and Nisar Ahmed Mirza, Vice-President ICCI, said the local markets are lacking in basic facilities like parking, filtration plants and public toilets so MCI/CDA should take steps to provide these facilities in the markets. They said trade-license-fee should be revised to make it affordable for traders. M. Ejaz Abbasi, Khalid Chaudhry, Ch. Ashraf Farzand and others also highlighted the issues of traders and industrialists that need urgent attention of the MCI and CDA.
