KARACHI:Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Syed Murtaza Mahmud, on Monday, directed Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) to resolve issues of investors and industrialists on priority.
While presiding over a meeting of EPZA officers here he also stressed on making laws and rules governing export processing zones to make them conducive and investor friendly so that more volumes of foreign and domestic investment could be attracted and exports from the country could be enhanced.
The minister said that EPZ frameworks and models of China and Bangladesh may also be referred while reviewing laws, rules and policies in Pakistan as those countries had demonstrated significant progress in the sector.
Pakistan is enriched with vast natural resources and there was abundance of raw material besides availability of cheap labour force, he noted adding that the country has potential to increase its exports manifold by attaching priority to maximum facilitation of the investors and export oriented industry.
The minister said that EPZA was established to provide lucrative incentives and one window facilitation to investors to strengthen export oriented sectors and it should play its due role for achievement of set objectives of the authority.
The authority needed further efforts with dedication and hard work to enhance its share in total exports of the country, he observed and said, “right now exports through EPZA were slightly below $ one billion and we have to increase it tenfold to $ 10 billion by exploiting the available potential of the sector.”
Murtaza Mahmud assured his full support for resolving issues being confronted by EPZA and industrialists and businessmen working in the zones.
Earlier, Chairman EPZA Dr. Saifuddin Junejo briefed the minister about performance of the authority, major issues and way forward.
He informed that EPZA was working on establishment of EPZs on public private partnership mode while the process of automation of the authority was also in advanced stage.
The meeting was also briefed on Establishment of EPZ at Sukkur, development of Phase III of Karachi EPZ, rehabilitation of sick and closed units, issues of zones at Gujranwala and Sialkot and delay in constituting Board of Directors.