LAHORE, Oct 25: The government would remove flaws in the Industrial Policy 2003, Punjab Industries Minister Ajmal Cheema said on Saturday.
He was speaking at a meeting of businessmen at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The minister said the construction of Expo Centre in Lahore would begin next year and it would be completed in three years. Besides, some 112 acres had been purchased for the establishment of an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in the city which required a total area of 300 acres.
The government was committed to provide maximum facilities to industrialists to boost the economy. The government would also provide loans to the small and medium industries.
Mr Cheema asked the businessmen to concentrate on exports, especially of non-traditional items. He said the businessmen would have to improve the quality of their products to face the challenges of the World Trade Organization regime being implemented in Pakistan from 2005.
He said the business community feared that Chinese products might capture the world market after the implementation of the WTO regime because of cheaper rates. He urged the businessmen not to compromise on the quality of their products. He said the exports could also be increased through proper marketing in the world.
The minister also assured them that he would talk to Wapda to redress their grievances regarding high electricity rates.
The businessmen said that they should be consulted while devising tariffs of inputs. They alleged that bureaucrats hampered every development scheme for business community.
They said that successive governments had been promising to establish EPZ in Lahore for the last 15 years but nothing concrete was done so far. They also demanded independent power plants in the EPZs in the province.
They pointed out that Pakistan was fast losing the rice market in the Middle East and the US to India because of export of blended rice by some businessmen. They said the government should look into the matter and take immediate measures to stop this.
They also demanded separate tariffs for raw material and finish goods.
LCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar said the new system of self-declaration would facilitate the stakeholders. He said there was need to pay special attention to the cottage and small-scale industries.