ISLAMABAD, April 13: The government has decided to encourage import substitution by extensively upgrading indigenous industrial and manufacturing capabilities.

Informed sources told Dawn on Thursday that the ministry of industries and production had sought special funding preferably from the current Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to initiate modernisation and technology upgradation of the Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (PITAC), Lahore.

Besides helping in import substitution, the new venture is also aimed at poverty alleviation and job creation which will be considered a step forward towards future industrialisation and enhanced competitiveness of exports.

The objective is to acquire and disseminate the latest technological know-how and advanced technology and provide training to engineers, managers, supervisors, technicians and workers to improve their capabilities and skills for better productivity and performance.

It is said that there is no other institution/organisation which addresses various vital issues hampering the real growth of industrial and manufacturing sectors. The benefits of the proposed technology upgradation will be multi-dimensional and several-fold for needed-based human resource development, industry-demanded advisory services and manufacturing sector requirement in technological backup support.

The expertise and services made available due to the proposed upgradation of the PITAC will be shared by the industry as a whole without any preference and its effect will be catalytic and facilitative in technological development of the local engineering industry.

It is understood that in view of the government’s future vision of economic development and self-reliance, the requirements of training, advisory and technological support to the industries will increase to a large extent, particularly in terms of the services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The industry is moving to the next stage, therefore, the existing facilities at the PITAC are considered insufficient to fulfil such needs. Imports of production tools like dies, moulds, jigs, fixture, gauges, precision parts, etc., have two different inherent problems — huge foreign exchange costs and longer lead times — which are not affordable for industries in general.

The upgradation plan will not only develop the human resources, but will also prove to be successful venture for import substitution.

Pakistan, the sources said, had reached a stage of economic development where production of capital and intermediary goods can be undertaken. Tools and dies are such intermediary products which keep the industrial plants, specially the engineering companies, running. Pakistan already has many engineering projects beside hundreds of small units. However, it is said that there is a need for further development of capital goods producing industries. It is therefore, imperative that the technical know-how and the proposed training strategy for engineering and manufacturing industries be planned, developed and put into action.

As product life cycles become short, customers demand higher precision, quicker delivery and low prices. Unfortunately with the mould manufacturing process prevalent in the industry the desired results cannot be achieved.

The conventional way of manufacturing is time-consuming right from the design to manufacturing stage. Complicated parts cannot be produced accurately using conventional technology.

The ministry of industries and production maintains that metal removal is excessive, accuracy is low, more time is involved and a lot of energy is consumed. As a result the product produced is of inferior quality, duration is longer and overall cost is very high.

Due to these constraints businessmen are forced to import tools manufactured abroad which causes problems in the form of foreign exchange spending, longer times and some time is rectifying the imported production tool.

Quality is gaining importance in the world market as a result of increased competition. Cheap labour alone no longer ensures competitiveness. Manufacturers must now attain a certain technological level for rapid manufacturing process quickly and cost effective. A paradigm shift is required in engineering production process in order to achieve that goal.

The ministry has informed the higher authorities that serious shortage of knowledge base and skilled workers for engineering manufacturing has been observed all over Pakistan. The overriding factoring the mould and die industry today is its global nature. There are buyers of moulds and dies all over the world. One sweeping effect of globalisation is that most of the simpler, lower tolerance mould and die work have moved to developing countries where labour rates are cheap.

The manufacturing engineering sector is expanding anywhere in the world and more and more facilities are coming in practice. With this trend, which is expected to continue in future, local traditional facilities for producing production tolls, dies and moulds are not sufficient to fulfil this need. Overseas demand in the Middle East and South East Asia for trained manpower can also be met through the new technological upgradation plan.