ISLAMABAD, Dec 29: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Jehangir Khan Tareen on Wednesday said efforts would be made to increase the pace of industrialisation in the NWFP.

Presiding over a meeting held to review the progress of work on the Risalpur Export Processing Zone (EPZ), he said the rapid industrialisation would boost national economy and offer employment opportunities in the area.

He told the industrialists and the investors that he would raise their concerns with the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) in order to provide them further taxation relief, especially in the EPZ.

The industrialists informed the minister that they were not allowed to trade in the warehouses of the EPZ, which was allowed in the Karachi EPZ. They said there was a vast scope in marble and granite sector in the province.

They suggested the minister to set up a "common facility centre" from where expensive machinery could be provided to them for exploration of marble and granite in the province. Industrialists from Fata appreciated the government's decision to set up an industrial estate in Khyber Agency.