ISLAMABAD: Construction work on the state-of-the-art Expo Centre in Faisalabad would kick off this year in order to facilitate the industrialists and foreign investors setting up projects in Faisalabad, said Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood.
Chairing a meeting on Tuesday, Dawood assured Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) Chairman Mian Kashif Ashfaq that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be inked in one or two weeks between FIEDMC and the Lahore Expo Centre to run managerial affairs of the Faisalabad Expo Centre.
The adviser directed Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) officials to make sure that the FIEDMC participated in all international trade exhibitions. He also directed that exporters should be facilitated in participating in the Import Exhibition in China in September this year so that exports of the country could be boosted.
Dawood said the government would shift the country’s economy from a consumption-driven to an investment-driven one.
The FIEDMC chairman briefed the adviser about investment, development and progress being made on the Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
The adviser was also informed about the provision of electricity, protection of investors and steps taken to attract more investment in the Allama Iqbal Industrial City, which was built under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Ashfaq said Faisalabad was one of the fastest growing cities of Pakistan, which had the potential to stabilise national economy by multiplying its exports.
After completion of the expo centre in Faisalabad, he pointed out, it would hold maximum exhibitions for enhancing exports and bridging the widening gap between imports and exports.
“Only 25% of local industrialists and traders visit fairs at expo centres in Lahore and Karachi, but after establishment of the new expo centre in Faisalabad with greater facilities, more people will come to multiply their trade with foreigners and local investors.”
