PESHAWAR: Business community has expressed concerns over delay in completion of Peshawar Expo Centre (PEC) and demanded of federal government to approve the required Rs4 billion for the project in the next meeting of Export Development Fund.

This demand was made by Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Fuad Ishaq during a briefing at the site of the expo centre in Tarnab here on Wednesday. Industries Secretary Zulfiqar Ali Shah and Pakistan Expo Centre chief executive officer Mariam Khawar talked about the under-construction PEC, according to a statement.

A detailed briefing was given to the representatives of business community. They were told that the expo centre was while its renovation and other work would be completed during next 18 months if funds were released timely to the project.

Fuad Ishaq said that the expo centre had been approved during his tenure as president of SCCI in past when former federal minister for commerce Khurram Dastgir and former federal secretary of commerce Mohammad Shehzad Arbab had visited the chamber house.

He said that initially a sum of Rs500 million had been sanctioned out of the total estimated cost of Rs2.5 billion of the project. He said that more than Rs2.4 billion had so far been spent on the project.

However, the SCCI president said that owing to increasing cost of construction material, an additional Rs4 billion was required to complete the project.

He said that the financial assistance would be needed through Export Development Fund.

He expressed satisfaction over the designing and structure of the expo centre, built over 200-kanal. He urged the federal minister for commerce, Dr Gohar Ejaz, to ensure provision of the required Rs4 billion for the expo centre in the next meeting of Export Development Fund.

“It will not only provide facility to local industries to display their products but will also help in boosting export of goods from the province,” said Mr Ishaq.

He hoped that the expo centre would provide facilities to business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for promotion of export.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2023