The New Industrial Zone will help take the exports to $100 billion in the next 5 years, and will create 3 million new jobs in Karachi alone

Karachi, Sindh

Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry had planned establishing a new industrial zone of a whopping 10,000 acres for Karachi, the capital and coastal city of Sindh province.

“The new Industrial Zone will be aligned with international standards,” Dr. Gohar Ejaz, Federal Caretaker Minister for Commerce & Industries, announced on January 13, 2024 during his first visit to Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPPCI), the apex body of trade and industry of Pakistan.

The minister stated that if the vision of a 10,000-acre new industrial zone in Karachi is materialized and exports are taken to $100 billion in the next 5 years, it will create 3 million new jobs in Karachi alone. “At the same time, the business community can simply triple its earnings, if they play their due role in the accomplishment of targets set by the economic team of government. It is a win-win,” he added.

Dr. Gohar Ejaz shared his deep concerns over the state of Pakistan’s economy, specifically, trade deficit; rupee depreciation; low number of active tax filers; anomalies in Afghan Transit trade; reliance on the external sources of financing and dearth of the active participation of the business community in the policymaking.

Taking China as a role model, Dr. Gohar Ejaz, highlighted that China has foreign exchange reserves in the upwards of $3 trillion, which has shown a growth of 600 times over the course of last 30 years, while Pakistan has hardly managed to double its foreign exchange reserves to $9 billion from $4.5 billion during the tenure of current caretaker government.

Minister offered his full support in taking top economists on board as advisers of FPCCI to formulate its policy recommendations.

Atif Ikram Sheikh, President FPCCI, on this occasion said that FPCCI has decided to support reform initiatives of the commerce minister vis-à-vis export target of $100 billion in 5 years; documentation of the economy and stabilizing rupee-dollar parity. He announced that FPCCI is going to announce its R&D structure in the next 10 days – as his vision is to turn FPCCI into top consultative body for the government.

Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"