SIALKOT: The government was looking for a suitable piece of land for establishing a “Surgical City” at Sialkot to boost more than a century old local surgical industry and enhance exports of surgical goods.

Gujranwala Division Commissioner Zulfiqar Ghumman said this at a meeting of the Project Management and Implementation Unit that was also attended by representatives of the main trade bodies of the city here on Thursday.

During the meeting, the commissioner reviewed the pace of shifting of the tanneries scattered in and around the city to the Sialkot Tannery Zone (STZ).

He directed the official concerned and local trade bodies to ensure early shifting of the tanneries on the city outskirts to curb environmental pollution in the area.

Commissioner says annery zone to help curb industrial pollution

He said the STZ would be made fully functional soon.

The meeting of was told that the government has started implementation of the ‘Regional Economic Growth Strategy’ for establishing ‘Surgical City’ here.

Mr Ghumman said the Surgical City project would help boost the local surgical industry, besides enhancing the $400m surgical exports from Sialkot.

He said the government was making all out efforts to resolve the issues being faced by the local business community by involving the stakeholders, besides announcing some trade and export-related incentives to increase the exports.

He said STZ was an environment-friendly project which was being established on 485 acres of land and was in final stages of its completion.

He said an advanced international standard water treatment plant was being installed in the tannery zone where the waste water to be discharged by the tanneries would be treated for reuse.

Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Qaisar Iqbal Baryar told the meeting the Sialkot exporters had been earning foreign exchange to the tune of $2.5 billion annually and playing a pivotal role in strengthening the national economy and increasing exports.

He said the exports of leather products were worth US$ 500 million, while that of surgical instruments was US $400 million annually from Sialkot.

The SCCI, Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SIMAP) and other main trade bodies welcomed the Surgical City project and assured their cooperation in this regard. STZ chairman Chaudhry Raza Munir said early shifting of the tanneries to the STZ was the top priority of the local business community for providing pollution-free environment to the coming generations.

Sialkot Deputy Commissioner Tahir Farooq, SCCI SVP Khurram Aslam Butt, representative of Pakistan’s Surgical Industry Jehangir Bajwa and CEO Sheikh Abdul Waheed Sandal, STZ Project Manager Muhammad Atif and officials concerned also attended this meeting.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2021