Ahmed Khan Malik

The Sindh government is formulating a policy for establishment of new industrial zones in the province for job creation and revenue generation, reports WealthPK. With the implementation of the new industrial policy, the existing industries would improve and new economic zones would open up in the province, Dr Qaisar Bengali, Consultant at the Industries Department. Through this policy, the vacant industrial plots and those illegally converted into commercial ones or those that have been stalled due to the manipulation of documents would be identified, he said. Dr Qaisar Bengali said special incentives would be provided for establishment of small industries so that the investors could also benefit from the policy. The record of all industrial plots in the province is being computerized. Work on the policy has been almost completed and its draft would be finalized soon. According to him, the policy is being devised by taking on board all the relevant stakeholders in public and private sectors. He said the manufacturing sector’s development was the top priority, as a robust manufacturing sector promoted domestic production, generated employment and stimulated the overall growth of economy.

In Pakistan, the manufacturing sector contributes 12.4 percent to the GDP and dominates the overall manufacturing sector. This sector employs 14.9 percent of the country's labor force.  Traditionally, the manufacturing sector can be divided into two main sub-sectors – large-scale manufacturing (LSM) and small & household manufacturing industries. The Census of Manufacturing Industries (CMI) focuses on the production of large-scale manufacturing industries. The manufacturing sector has a share of 65 percent in the industry. The industrial sector performance is more dependent on large-scale manufacturing industries, as it holds 74.0 percent share in the industry whereas LSM is reflected by Quantum Index of Manufacturing (QIM) data. The role of Sindh province in large-scale manufacturing is very vital. Karachi is the largest metropolitan city in Pakistan, according to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and over 67 percent establishments/factories are located there, while the remaining 33 percent are located in other districts of the province.

The Sindh government has also established the Sindh Economic Zones Management Authority to facilitate domestic and foreign investment in the manufacturing sector by offering special exemptions and incentives leading to reduced cost of doing business with efficient infrastructure and to work for orderly and planned industrial growth by establishing special economic zones/economic zone(s) such as IT, media, internet, marble cities or any other business clusters. It also aims to identify support services required by each economic zone(s)/special economic zone(s), and/or industrial estate(s) and/or industrial park(s) and facilitate to provide/establish a linking mechanism for industries to increase productivity and to undertake and execute which may directly or indirectly promote the objectives of the companies.

Credit: INP-WealthPk