PESHAWAR: The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has urged the government to take pragmatic steps for the development of small and medium-scale industries.
The demand was raised by SCCI President Engr Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz during a luncheon hosted in the honour of former industries secretary and incumbent Secretary for Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement, Aamir Latif, at the chamber house on Wednesday.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) CEO Javed Iqbal Khattak, KP Board of Investment & Trade CEO Hassan Daud Butt, Bank of Khyber’s Head of Islamic Banking Atif Hanif, Small Industries Development Board Managing Director Ghazanfar Ali and former FPCCI vice president Iftikhar Ahmad were also present on the occasion.
The participants of the meeting praised the services of former industry secretary Aamir Latif and expressed hope that the decisions taken under his leadership would help accelerate the process of industrialisation in the province.
Maqsood Pervaiz urged the local government to exempt Small Industrial Estate (Peshawar) and Jamrud Industrial Estate from property tax. He also demanded the supply of electricity to all industrial estates on wheeling charges.Â
“The government should take proactive measures for the improvement of small industrial infrastructure and resolve issues being confronted by owners of small manufacturing units. Besides establishing new economic zones, the government should also take steps for the provision of facilities in the existing industrial estates,” he stated.
Speaking on the occasion, Aamir Latif noted that the small-scale manufacturing industries have played a vital role in economic development and employment generation, adding that provision of facilities to them was among the topmost priorities of the KP government.   Â
The secretary said the government and private sector were prerequisites for each other, and that that industrialization was essential in order to ensure socio-economic development.
