Promoting regional trade: Faisalabad to host SAARC industrial parks

Over $500m will be invested in first phase of the project

FAISALABAD: With the regional body becoming irrelevant due to lack of political will and funding constraints, business executives from member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) have planned to set up special industrial parks to promote regional trade.

Last month, Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) President Suraj Vadiya and Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) Chairman Mian Muhammad Idrees signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for making Saarc industrial parks a reality.



The personal clout enjoyed by both the business executives may make the industrial parks a reality as main regional powers, India
and Pakistan, remain at loggerheads due to divergent strategic and political priorities.

“The Saarc Industrial Park will be an exclusive place for investment by businesses belonging to the member countries,” Idrees told The Express Tribune.

He said search for setting up the parks in Pakistan had been going on for some time and now it had been decided that Faisalabad would host these special zones.

The industrial park would initially be spread over 300 acres of land, which would be extended later to 500 acres, he said, adding in the first phase over $500 million would be invested in this project.

“This is a positive move for Pakistan as the industrial estate will not only fetch investment, but will also create employment for the locals,” Idrees said.

Mostly those industries will be installed that can be run by raw material supply from Pakistan, for instance cotton. Compared to other countries, raw material in Pakistan is cheap and of good quality.



Trade among Saarc member countries is the lowest compared to trade in other regional blocs, mainly due to hostilities among regional players in addition to high tariff and non-tariff barriers that discourage trade.

The Saarc CCI would try to persuade its members to remove the hurdles and lower the tariffs to improve the regional trade, said Idrees.

He said the huge population in Saarc countries made it an ideal place for investment due to high demand, adding the industrial park would not only increase trade but would also prove fruitful in improving relations with neighbouring countries.

He added Saarc countries would invest every year to increase the production capacity and install new units.

To facilitate the investors, the government has offered 10-year tax relief and zero duty on the import of machinery. The management of FIEDMC has also promised uninterrupted energy supply.

Idrees said a Saarc summit would be held in November this year and the Saarc CCI president would announce the setting up of the industrial park in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2016.

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