LAHORE - The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the government not to disband the Engineering Development Board (EDB) as it has been playing a fundamental role in promoting the engineering sector.

LCCI President Malik Tahir Javed, Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rasheed and Vice President Zeshan Khalil, in a joint statement here Sunday, said the idea should be shelved for the sake of engineering sector in Pakistan. "The decision was taken without taking the stakeholders on board," they claimed. They said the EDB was established to oversee multiple areas related to the engineering sector. An important area where EDB had contributed the most was the automobile sector as it oversaw the implementation of the auto policy, based on predefined policy document guidelines.

They said it supported the vendor industry by handling various Statutory Regulatory Orders, by assuring local content enhancement and curtailment of rollback, based on the government's policy guidelines. They said closure of EDB would derail the engineering industry, especially the auto sector would lead to inefficiency, and lack of expertise would further complicate the situation, leading to stoppage of investments in auto sector, especially the vending sector.