Chairman Punjab Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (PIEDMC), Javaid Iqbal has said that every possible efforts is being made to provide top-notch facilities to industrialists, ensuring ease of doing business and maximizing their contribution to national economic growth. He said that the PIEDMC is focusing on infrastructure development, streamlined regulations, and investor-friendly policies to attract businesses and stimulate economic activity. He said this in his talks with President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Nasir Mansoor Qureshi here at the Chamber House on Monday. He said that he is determined to give Industrial Estates to Islamabad and Rawalpindi at the earliest possible time and for this purpose he is in consultations with all the stakeholders to arrive on a tangible decision, adding that this Estate will surely be the state of the art as per the international standards.

Chairman PIEDMC further said that in this context, in near future he will arrange a meeting of all the stakeholders with the participation of ICCI and RCCI Presidents to evolve a consensus on all the required details to move forward unitedly and with collective wisdom. He also said that it will be appropriate, if the ICCI and RCCI put forward their evaluations and requirements regarding this mega project to help facilitate the PIEDMC to move ahead as per their needs and demands. President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nasir Mansoor Queshi said that industrialization is the cornerstone of country’s bright economic future, thereby all the relevant departments need to fully cooperate with the ICCI in its engagements for a new Industrial Estate for the federal capital.

He said that Islamabad is a gateway to northern areas, and also the main artery towards China, which could prove a potential economic hub to boost trade and industrial activities in the region and that the new industrial zone will not only promote industrial base but also bring multiple benefits to the economy as it would create new job opportunities, enhance tax revenue and boost exports. ICCI President said that a large number of potential investors are willing to set up industries in Islamabad, therefore, a new industrial zone is the main requirement to make all this feasible He added that Islamabad has undergone fast expansion and the existing industrial area of sectors I-9 and I-10 have no more space to set up new industrial units, therefore an industrial estate have all the latest prerequisites will go a long way in promoting businesses as well as the economic wellbeing of the country.

He also made the mention of the bureaucratic hurdles as well as the irrational taxes on the part of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) which have multiplied the problems of local industrialists in the capital city. General Manager Coordination PIEDMC Umer Saeed apprised the participants about the location and other necessary details of the selected piece of land on the under construction Rawalpindi-Islamabad Ring Road and its potential benefits for the industrialists of both the ICCI and RCCI. Senior Vice President ICCI Abudr Rehman Siddiqui, Executive Members Zulqurnain Abbasi and Naveed Akhtar Satti were also present on the occasion.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan