Raised electricity tariff has intensified operational issues for about 6,000 marble factories in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the owners fear shut-downs if the situation remains the same. Asghar Khan, Chairman of All Pakistan Marble Industries Association, said while talking to WealthPK that escalation in electricity costs has intensified the challenges confronting the marble industry in KP. He said a significant number of factories are already closed, rendering thousands of workers associated with this sector jobless.He said the marble industry has been providing employment to hundreds of thousands of individuals across various districts of KP including Mardan, Nowshera, Buner, Swat, Swabi, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Mansehra, and Mohmand.

Asghar said the marble industry in KP also contributes significantly to the national economy through tax revenue. However, he said, ignoring the challenges of the marble industry, the government has burdened it with enhanced power tariff. He pointed out that on account of fuel adjustments in the electricity bills, additional taxes have been imposed, and under the guise of quarter tariff, the electricity bills have been multiplied with additional sales tax, withholding tax, and general sales tax (GST), which has left the industry on the verge of collapse.Marble transportation costs have also increased substantially due to phenomenal increase in fuel prices.

Maharaj Hassan, a marble dealer at Potohar Avenue, Islamabad, told WealthPK that sluggish construction activities throughout the country have significantly impacted the marble industry.He attributed the slowdown in construction activities to the overall economic challenges in the country, particularly inflation, which has dented the purchasing power of consumers. Mohmand tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is known for rich and diverse deposits of marble. To leverage the estimated 845 million tonnes of deposits, Mohmand Marble City was established in 2008 and it was planned that all local industries would be to shifted there for organised operations. However, the development on the Marble City remains sluggish due to a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, it is an encouraging step that the Marble City has now been given the status of a special economic zone and included in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “Pakistan’s marble is of fine quality and there are massive prospects associated with this industry to boost the national economy, but the authorities need to provide incentives to this very sector to reap full economic benefits,” Maharaj said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)