MULTAN, Oct 26th:South Punjab is on the top in agricultural economy,it produces 96 percent of cotton of entire Punjab and 80 percent of whole country and it pay more taxes than Faisalabad which is a hub of industry,said Malik Asrar Ahmed Awan President of Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry while briefing the visiting probationary officers of grade-18 of 24th mid-career Management Course (MCMC) in National Institutes of Managements in Karachi.He further said that this area has great potential for investment in agriculture,Dairy products, livestock,fruits and vegetable processing and packaging.However this zone was far behind from upper Punjab in development.There was dire need of health facilities and potable water to facilitate the masses. Malik Asrar Awan said that World bank and international finance corporation surveys revealed that South Punjab ranked at second in the country for investment. MCCI President said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — a $54 billion portfolio of energy and infrastructure projects — promises to usher in a new era of economic development and growth for Pakistan. However, this could only be possible if Pakistan’s industry reaps benefits from this enhanced connectivity, creating new jobs and boosting exports. He said that policymakers are overly optimistic on CPEC and its potential benefits, local manufacturers, chambers and industry associations appear to be seriously concerned about their future.The textile industry, for instance, fears the glut of textile goods from Xinjiang to create serious competition in future,he added. The local industry already had to rely on expensive raw material imports in the wake of recent cotton crisis and any increased demand for raw material from neighboring China is going to further raise prices and limit availability.Similarly, other industries feel that they are going to be eaten up by large-scale Chinese enterprises with significant economies of scale. On environmental front, experts fear that an open-gate policy towards China may bring in dirty industries to Pakistan, resulting in environmental degradation,he said. He demanded that Government must grant mega projects of CPEC to south punjab. Mian Iqbal Hassan former President of MCCI said that our exports are of $20 billion dollars while imports surged to $ 58 billion dollars.It was sa great trade deficit.The country’s trade deficit ballooned by 42 per cent year-on-year to an all-time high of $30 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year on the back of falling exports and a sharp increase in the import bill.Mian Iqbal Hassan said that CPEC project was in fact in the benefit of China. Director General of National Institutes of Managements Karachi Roshan Ali Sheikh said that grade 19 and 20 officers are being trained in the field so that they could know about the problems of the people and they could easily implement the Government Policies.He said that Multan was developed during the last decade and efforts of Multan Chamber cannot be ruled out and it has played its pivotal role in Multan's development. He advised the member of Multan Chamber not to afraid of CPWEC project because it would definitely prove a game changer for Pakistan.He said that this project was designed in 2006. Begum Romana Tanvir Senior Vice President of MCCI said that Government officers can do a lot for redressing the grievances of the people.She said that Pakistan can progress by leaps and bounds if we do work as true Pakistanis.
