LAHORE, Jan 30: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) is striving to increase the share of the engineering sector in the overall manufacturing of Pakistan from the current 18 per cent to 30 per cent by 2012 and enhance export of engineering goods from $400 million to $1 billion by 2007.

“We will achieve this target by strengthening the engineering sector and integrating it with the world market to make it the driving force of economic growth,” EDB chief executive officer Imtiaz Rastgar said while speaking at a discussion organized by the Lahore Economic Journalists Association (LEJA) here on Monday.

Mr Rastgar said the share of the engineering sector in the global trade was about 63 per cent while that of textile stood at only six per cent. He said that Pakistan was playing on a small field and the EDB wanted to promote the engineering sector and take its exports to the level of textiles in the next few years.

He also gave a detailed briefing on the existing situation of Pakistan’s engineering sector, its weaknesses and strengths and steps being taken by the EDB for the promotion of the engineering sector.

Business Development Group of the board’s Nabeel Hashmi equally supported him in the advocacy. The EDB CEO said that the weaknesses of Pakistan’s engineering sector included the absence of a world class manufacturing education, lack of modern machinery and methods, low value-addition, and heavy reliance on tariff protection. He said the sector also lacked marketing focus, made multiple products in low quantities instead of a single product for a world market, and marketing strategies.

He was of the view that instead of using tariff as shield against foreign products by the domestic companies, they should go and sell abroad, seek joint ventures, purchase new technology, go for high value addition, create an army of salesmen and develop technical teams for technology absorption.

He also threw light on the EDB’s programme of participating in the world fairs to give international exposure to the Pakistani companies. He said that the strategy was that the EDB would send a brief delegation to a fair once to study opportunities and advantages and then dispatch a big delegation comprising exhibitors and others to encash upon the opportunities.

Mr Nabeel said that last year they had a big pavilion at Hannover, Germany, and this year over 70 exhibitors would be attending that fair. He said: “We want to give the engineering sector of Pakistan an exposure equal to textile.” He said that the EDB was also planning “Engineering Pakistan 2006” fair in November this year in which over 300 engineering companies from various sub-sectors would display their goods and products.

He said those who would be participating in Hannover this year were also being imparted training by foreign experts on how to present themselves and their products at such exhibitions.

Mr Rastgar affirmed that they not only gave exposure to the Pakistani companies of international market, but also take up follow-up measures to help such companies encash the opportunities.