PESHAWAR, Feb 3: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Liaquat Ali Jatoi has expressed the hope that the manufacturing sector would achieve 20 per cent target for its contribution to GDP as it has shown encouraging results during the current financial year.
Addressing members of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), here on Monday, Jatoi said that out of the overall growth rate so far manufacturing sector’s contribution remained well over 17 per cent.
“This is a significant improvement as in the 2001-02 financial year manufacturing sector’s total contribution to the GDP stood at slightly over 14 per cent,” Mr. Jatoi told SCCI members.
Later, talking to Dawn the federal minister attributed the manufacturing sector’s performance to the automobile sector which, he added, had contributed 40 per cent of the manufacturing sector’s total contribution to the GDP.
He expressed the hope that industrial sector would improve further as the political government had embarked upon several initiatives— rationalizing the taxation system, restoring investors’ confidence, facilitating the industrial sector by simplifying official rules and lengthy procedures and encouraging foreign and local investors by adopting prudent economic policies.
“Though the previous government’s policies are not being changed for they have benefited the country, new policies would be formulated wherever required,” said Jatoi.
The new government, he added, was chalking out a new investment policy to encourage foreign and local investment as both were equally significant for the much needed industrial growth.
He said Pakistan would not be able to compete at the global level if its industrial sector did not adopt modern technology and that human resource development would also have to be focused.
“Without skilled labour and modern technology we would not be in a position to survive at the global level,” said Jatoi.
He invited the overseas Pakistani investors returning to their country in the post-Sept 11 situation, to invest their in Pakistan because, he claimed, it was a very viable and open market.
To facilitate the new investors - overseas Pakistanis, locals and foreign investors - he
maintained, the ministry of industry would shortly introduce ‘one-desk operations’ bringing all the facilities at a single place.
Besides, he added, the ministry for industries would shortly bring out a manual book which would give sector-wise information to those who wanted to invest in any of the particular sector in Pakistan.
The book, work on which was under progress, would contain the background knowledge and performance of every sub-sector of the main industrial sector helping the intending investors to know about the opportunity and prospects each of the sub-sectors offered.
Responding to the demands and issues taken up during his speech by the SCCI
president Sarwar Mohmand, the federal minister said that the Export Processing
Zone (EPZ) set up at Risalpur, some 50 km from Peshawar, would be extended facilities and incentives equal to those already extended to EPZs functioning in other provinces of the country.
He said that an in-coming delegation of investors from Dubai, which would be visiting Pakistan’s EPZs in the near future to study the investment prospects would also be sent to EPZ, Risalpur, to explore future investment opportunities in the NWFP.
Replying to several issues brought to his notice by NWFP industrialists and traders Mr. Jatoi assured them his support and promised to positively look into the same.
He told them he would shortly be constituting an advisory council comprising presidents of chambers of commerce and industry and industrial experts to resolve problems hindering industrial sector and raise recommendations to give boost to the industrial sector to attain higher level of exports.
