Government assures full facilitation for Sialkot SEZ

SIALKOT: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar said the government was well-aware of the problems being faced by the business community and making all-out sincere efforts for their early resolution.

Talking to the business community at a dinner hosted by him last night, he said the government
was taking effective steps for the development of industry and strengthening the national
economy by taking the business community into confidence. He said that local exporters were
playing a significant role in strengthening the national economy.

The SAPM said that a strong industrial base was vital for boosting and increasing the national
exports, adding that all impediments in the way of exports promotion would be removed.

He said the Sialkot exporters had written a golden history by establishing two mega projects
including Sialkot International Airport Limited (SIAL) and its own private airline namely AirSial Airline on a self-help basis.

He urged the exporters to establish Sialkot Business Council with a specific agenda on how
to increase Sialkot exports from $2.5 billion to $5 billion.

Dar said that sewerage, water supply, solid waste management, traffic management and
upgrading of parks projects worth Rs17bn was underway which would provide advanced
municipal facilities to the people of Sialkot after their completion. All the development schemes
would be completed within the stipulated period, he added.

He said that all the development schemes in Sialkot would be named after those who were
paying maximum taxes.

He said that the Kashmir Road underpass had been approved and the work would soon be started.

The University of Applied Engineering and Emerging Technologies was going to be built at a
cost of Rs16bn, he said.

The SAPM said that a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was going to be set up over a thousand
of acres in Sialkot.

He said that a modern hospital consists of 1000 beds would be built at a cost of 6bn in Sialkot.

The government had released Rs3.5bn for the new campus of Govt College Women University (GCWU) at Aimenabad Road, he added.

Sialkot business community lauded the efforts of the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Muhammad Usman Dar for his strenuous efforts for the business community of Sialkot during the lockdown.

Provincial Minister for Special Education Punjab Ch. Muhammad Ikhlaq, Minister for Religious Affairs (AJK) Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Leader of Sialkot Business Community Riaz-ud-Din Sheikh, President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Qaiser Iqbal Baryar, Chairman AirSial Fazal Jillani, Chairman Dryport Trust Sheikh Naveed Iqbal, Chairman Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association Pakistan (SIMAP) Zeeshan Tariq, Chairman Sialkot Tannery Zone Raza Munir, Chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association Faisal Mehbood, Vice Chairman AirSial Umer Mir, Vice Chairman SIAL Chaudhry
Sarfraz Ahmed Bhatti and a large number of businessmen attended the function.