RAWALPINDI: Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha on Friday said the location of the business facilitation centre has been finalised on the premises of the Rawalpindi Development Authority and work on it will be completed with two months.

He along with Secretary Industries Ehsan Bhutta, Rawalpindi Traders Association President Shahid Ghafoor Paracha, Small Industry and Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry representatives and other officials visited the building.

Presiding over a meeting after the visit, Mr Chattha said in the light of the directions of the caretaker chief minister, the process for setting up the centre had been started.

In order to establish the centre in minimum time, instead of constructing a new building the existing building has been chosen so that necessary arrangements can be made there and it will be made functional in two months.

After the establishment of the centre, all departments from which NOCs are required before starting any business will be brought under one roof so that entrepreneurs do not have to wander around from one department to other.

Within the centre, representatives of 18 departments, including Wapda, Nadra, SNGPL, environment, livestock, tourism, local government, PHA, Wasa, irrigation and police and other concerned departments will be stationed who will be responsible for guiding and taking prompt action on requests of the business community.

Apart from this, the official website of Business Facilitation Center - www.bfc.Punjab.gov.pk has all necessary details.

Also the updated status of one’s application can be checked from there.

The commissioner said the biggest advantage of the centre will be that if an NOC was required for business in other divisions, it can also be obtained from here.

Speaking on the occasion, the secretary industries said the economic development of Pakistan was possible only by establishing industries. It will help in substituting imports with exports.

During the visit to Rawalpindi, it has been realised that there is a lot of potential for an industrial estate here because so far more than 3,000 people have approached the commissioner and showed their interest in setting up small industries.

He said that after the success of Business Facilitation Centre in Lahore, it is being started in Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Gujranwala on the insistence of the business community.

Its aim is to bring investment in these districts by promoting economic activities and play an important role in national development.

He said that a three-day special training will be conducted for the staff to be appointed at the centre.

Along with this, their regular monitoring will also be done so that no one’s vested interest gets in the way of this centre built under the concept of one-window operation.

He directed that temporary patchwork should be done at the existing access road of Rawat Industrial Estate while efforts would be made to get a supplementary grant for the construction of a separate road.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2023