MULTAN: Chairman Multan Dry Port Trust (MDPT) Khawaja Muhammad Jalaluddin Roomi said that Pakistan Railway has agreed to provide transportation facilities at Sher shah junction station to facilitate exporters and importers and providing them cheapest transport.
Chairman Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi was talking exclusively to Customs Today in his office. He said that in the financial year 2020, the Dry Port Trust has exported goods worth Rs1367 million and handled imports worth Rs355 million in the current financial year and deposited Rs. 83 million in the form of taxes in the government treasury.
The Multan Dry Port, once a symbol of growing economic activity in the country, has almost been deserted with a dip in exports, high provincial taxes, red tape and unresolved logistical issues, forcing traders to look at Karachi for cargo movement and handling. Novel Pandemic COVID-19 added to the decay of this dry port.
“We hope all matters will be finalized soon and the project will be completed next year,” Roomi said. He said that the PTI government was giving incentives to the industry generously and hoped that the wheel of the industry would turn faster which would not only improve the economic situation but also create an environment conducive to import and export.
Exporters would not go to Karachi if the Multan Dry Port was able to meet their requirements at their doorsteps, he remarked. Responding to a question, he said that due to the government’s smart lockdown policy, Now Pakistan was declared the safest country globally in the first phase of a pandemic. Foreign buyers were moving towards Pakistan and they are taking interest in Pakistani products. Our exports increased by 18.7 percent during last six months. Along with this, the policies of the government for the industrialists also expanded the business for which we are grateful to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
Chairman Multan Dry Port Trust further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has given a gift of 2021 to the construction industry and extended the fixed tax regime of the construction sector till December 31, 2021. At the same time, it has extended the period of not asking for sources of income for investment.
These steps of the Prime Minister of Pakistan will not only benefit the construction industry but also the common man will now have his own roof instead of renting. In this regard, the State Bank of Pakistan and all banks are also providing house financing at low-rate mark-up as per government guidelines. Another revolutionary step taken by the government for the industrial sector is to reduce electricity tariffs for 3 years, which will keep the wheel of industry running in the country and create new employment opportunities.
