Industrial estates reach saturation point

ICCI urges govt to set up new zones in order to stop investor outflow

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Tuesday urged the government to establish new industrial estates in the capital city in order to promote industrialisation, stimulate investment and create jobs.

Currently, Sectors I-9 and I-10 and Kahuta Industrial Triangle are the three major industrial estates in Islamabad.



“The existing industrial estates have reached their saturation point,” ICCI President Khalid Iqbal Malik said while chairing a meeting of the organisation’s members. As a result “investors are facing difficulties in setting up new manufacturing units in the city.”



Highlighting the unavailability of basic industrial plots, Malik said industrialists were shifting to Hattar and other fringe areas for setting up factories. “Keeping in view the importance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), new industrial estates are the need of the hour in Islamabad,” he emphasised.

The ICCI president criticised the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for recommending to the government to change Sector I-17 from industrial to the residential sector, calling it an unwise step, which would be counterproductive to the efforts aimed at promoting industrialisation in the city.

“The CDA should desist from changing the status of Sector I-17 and instead focus on its development as a modern industrial estate to help flourish industrial activities in the region,” he added. ICCI Senior Vice President Khalid Malik and Vice President Tahir Ayub said Sector I-17 was earmarked for industrial purposes some time ago and urged the government to keep it for the declared purpose.



ICCI’s CDA Sub-Committee Chairman Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi briefed the meeting about the background of the project. He said the CDA in collaboration with the ICCI had made considerable progress in 2008 to develop Sector I-17 as a new industrial estate in Islamabad. Expressing surprise at the civic body’s recommendation of changing the sector’s status, he said local industrialists would not accept the move.

“The CDA should immediately withdraw it (the summary sent to the Prime Minister’s Office) in the larger interest of the country’s economy,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2017.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.