ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the project for construction of infrastructure of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) in Peshawar.

The project will cost Rs31.05 million and will be completed in two years.

This project is designed to promote standardization, systems certification and quality assurance of the manufactured products in the NWFP and solve quality problems of local industries.

The construction of state-of-the-art laboratories of PSQCA in Peshawar will ensure testing for standards to cater for provincial, national and international requirements. An information network system will be established for instant availability of Pakistan and international standards. The setup of PSQCA will also provide training and research facilities in standards and quality control.

Presently for testing and assessment of industrial raw material and finished products, all samples are collected and sent to quality control centre in Lahore, which causes inordinate delay and affects the efficiency of the process.

The expansion and upgradation of testing facilities of PSQCA will ultimately enable the authority to be responsible for quality assurance of the products of 6,500 industries in Pakistan.

Recently, the Pakistani government has decided to adopt more than 19000 ISO/IEC standards, and the 4700 Pakistan standards developed by standards development centre will be modified accordingly.