PESHAWAR: Speakers at a dialogue said that Peshawar had the potential to become hub of economic activities for the Pak-Afghan trade and Central Asian Republics (CARs), keeping in view recent geopolitical changes in the region.

The Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) was organised by Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA) in collaboration with Small and Medium Authority (Smeda) here on Thursday, said a statement.

Speaking on the occasion provincial head of Smeda Rashid Aman said that Pakistan’s economy was heading towards documentation and those, who were avoiding it, would not be able to get facilitation from the government’s incentives.

He stressed the need for formalising businesses to avail the support offered by the government. He said that importance of adequate infrastructure was the basic requirement for the industry to flourish.

Mr Aman said that in current scenario, Peshawar and its surroundings must be developed with sufficient infrastructure to provide conducive environment for the trade avenues to start, continue and grow.

Representatives of business community highlighted the issues including shortage of industrial plots in the existing industrial estates. They said that regulations might be framed to discourage and bar real estate investors to buy industrial plots for resale and profit earning.

They proposed separate industrial estate (furniture city) and proposed installation of wood seasoning facility in it.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2022