Leading industrialists have presented proposals to bolster the national economy to the upcoming government. Their recommendations include introducing a customised low-cost financing scheme, evolving an urban and consistent industrial policy, revamping crumbling road infrastructure, and implementing a one-window operation, among other initiatives.
Speaking to the Express Tribune about expectations from the upcoming elected government after the 2024 general poll, business leaders stressed the need for a customised low-cost financing scheme specifically for the construction of industrial units in the small and medium-sized sector. They highlighted the significance of SMEs as the backbone of any country.
President of the Site Association of Industry (SAI), Muhammad Kamran Arbi, stressed the importance of proper utility services for industrial operations. He called for the upcoming government to address utility issues, including gas, electricity, and water, with regionally competitive rates and improved services to support economic growth. Arbi suggested the establishment of a mechanism for a one-window operation to streamline interactions with the more than 65 federal and provincial departments that impact industrialists, traders, and investors throughout the year.
He also underscored the promotion of e-commerce to save time and transportation costs, facilitating ease of doing business. He urged the government to ensure law and order in Karachi and promptly establish an urban and consistent industrial policy with input from all stakeholders, especially industrialists, to address industry challenges on a top priority basis.
Another prominent industrialist, Salahuddin Qureshi, called for a comprehensive revamping of the road infrastructure in all industrial zones of Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad. Poor road conditions contribute to increased transportation costs, affecting productivity. Qureshi suggested emulating successful models, like Bangladesh’s planning commission, for swift issue resolution. He urged the newly-elected government to follow similar initiatives to enhance exports, control inflation, generate jobs, and ensure facilities for local industrialists and investors.
Read Karachi’s industrialists pin hopes for revival on 2024
Qureshi specifically called for supplying electricity and allocating an Express Feeder for Sindh small industries in Phase-II on Tando Mohammad Khan road. He also highlighted the importance of giving possession to an industrial plot spreading 300 acres of land allotted in 2007 in SITE Hyderabad. He pleaded for the government to provide maximum facilities for local investors and industrialists, encouraging public-private partnerships in rural areas to eliminate poverty and generate employment.
President of the Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industries (FBATI), Syed Raza Hussain, proposed a financing scheme of up to Rs500 million through commercial banks, with a favourable markup rate of 5–6% over 20 years. This scheme aims to encourage small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to construct industrial units, focusing on domestic and export markets. The emphasis is on construction activities to accelerate economic activities in major cities, preventing the loss of precious foreign exchange through machinery imports.
Hussain highlighted that the financing scheme would revive growth in allied sectors, generate employment, and contribute additional revenues through taxes. He urged the government to introduce an easy markup scheme for local brands and SMEs, enhancing economic activities across the country and curbing imports of foreign brands that burden the current account and foreign exchange reserves.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 2nd, 2024.
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