PESHAWAR, Feb 13: Sensing greater investment and trading prospects amidst high hopes of peace in Afghanistan, several Pakistani and international firms are setting up their offices in Peshawar.

Peshawar, regarded as gateway to the Central Asia linking it with South Asian region with the shortest possible trade route, has got revived its historic significance.

According to local business circles, several of the Pakistani firms and multinationals are, presently, studying the prospects of setting up their offices in Peshawar offering unique business prospects to the business concerns.

Business circles believed that Peshawar enjoyed greater attraction for multinational firms — much more than any other city of the countries sharing borders with Afghanistan — for its being equipped with sufficient trade and business facilities and above all being situated at a distance of less than one hour drive to Afghanistan.

There are a couple of multinationals who have already undertaken exercises to set up their offices in Peshawar in view of the greater business prospects in the war-torn Afghanistan getting ready to have a large scale reconstruction.

Similarly, Pakistani firms and companies involved in manufacturing, said the sources, were also opening offices in the provincial capital of NWFP.

In view of the greater trade and business activities and the likelihood of Peshawar’s receiving increased number of foreign visitors travelling to Afghanistan, the management of the lone four star hotel in the provincial metropolis has also undertaken the hotel’s expansion programme.

It has been learnt on good authority that apart from adding over 100 more rooms in the hotel, its owner, said the sources, was also considering to establish a five-star hotel at an other part of the provincial capital — land for which had already been made available to the hotel tycoon much earlier.

“The local trade and industry will grow with the start of multi-sectoral trade activities in Afghanistan,” hoped a leading industrialist of Peshawar who invested money in Afghanistan’s real estate business (in Kabul) during the Taliban regime.

According to him, decision on the part of Canadian government to construct 15,000 houses in one part of Kabul to accommodate the war victims would create big business opportunities for the Peshawar’s industrialists and traders.

Apart from multinationals, Pakistan’s leading industrialists based in Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi are in the process of opening up offices in Peshawar to have quick access to Afghanistan.

Some of them, said the sources, had shown willingness to enter into joint ventures with the NWFP based businessmen more acquainted with trade and business environment of Afghanistan.

“Plastic good manufacturers, tent manufacturers, cooking oil producers, cement manufacturers and several number of manufacturers involved in garments and quilts business are in the process of setting up their offices in Peshawar,” said a member of the Sarhad Chamber.