President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should take note of the plight of Marble City Risalpur (MCR). The facilities promised to the investors should be provided to attract an investment of six billion rupees which will boost revenue and employment, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC) announced the establishment of MCR in 2009 on 185 acres of land. 199 plots were offered at high rates and a promise was made to provide all facilities in 18 months.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that PASDEC has managed some sub-standard power, sewerage and road work but it has not provided the promised facilities despite the lapse of ten years.
The former minister noted that lack of proper infrastructure has resulted in a lack of interest on the part of investors therefore only 35 units could be complete while another 30 are under construction. He said that units on remaining plots will only be established when infrastructure is improved and uninterrupted power supply is ensured through the dedicated powerhouse.
Presently the factories rely on shared electricity which is subjected to outages and fluctuation. The local electric supply company is not interested in improved electricity provision to MCR as its administration has not paid their dues to power company while investors have already paid all dues. He said that federal and provincial governments should improve the state of affairs in MCR to attract investment. He noted that the country has 30 billion tonnes of marble but production and exports are negligible.
A little attention can create employment opportunities in the province of KP while employing modern methods can improve the situation as blasting waste almost 70 percent of the marble. He said that the marble sector is facing tariff and non-tariff barriers which must be removed while corrupt officials should be held accountable for their deeds.
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Compression of demand will not help achieve Rs5500 billion revenue target: Mian Zahid
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said the policy of strangulating economic activities to reduce demand in the market will never bring economic stability. Government is reducing demand on the directions of IMF which has reduced industrial output, it is closing large scale manufacturing and resulting in unemployment and anxiety, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that manipulating monetary policy will not resolve issues confronting economy and disappointing business community through interest rates will remain counterproductive.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that traders and industrialists are no more interested in profits but struggling to avoid the bankruptcy of their ventures.
The former minister noted that the government has not reduced oil prices despite a slide in the international market and it increased electricity tariff twice in two days which will add to the cost of doing business. He said that businessmen are running out of patience as they are getting assurances but there is nothing concrete while delay in refund payments has resulted in a severe liquidity crunch for the export sector.
The business leader said good decisions are being taken at high level but bureaucracy is not ready to implement them while the accountability drive is being considered more important than economy which is damaging country. The IMF recipe to reduce production to tackle the deficit will force the country to pick begging bowl soon, he said.
COAS and PM has assured resolution of problems to the business community which should result in action as soon as possible to tackle nervousness and unemployment.
He said that opposition has become more aggressive and a showdown is expected during the current month which will further damage economy. PM Imran Khan should try to attract heavy Chinese investment like Iran did recently, during his visit to Beijing which can help end dependence on IMF, he said.