SIALKOT - Federal Minister for Industries and Production Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi inaugurated Sports Industries Development Centre (SIDC) at Daska here on Thursday.

He said that the government was making efforts for boosting the industrial sector. He said that the government was bringing modern manufacturing and production technologies to develop the industries on modern lines in a bid to meet the trade challenges.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the federal minister said that the government was committed to booming up the industrial and production sectors on priority for ensuring the establishment of strong industrial growth. He said that the government had also removed the hurdles from the way of national industrial growth and production.

He said that successful and positive economic and industrial development polices were helping pave the for economic stability and industrial boost.

He said that the government was fully aware of the perturbing problems being faced by the industrialists and exporters. He said that the government was making efforts resolve these problems by taking the business community into confidence.

He highlighted the pivotal role of SMEDA in promotion and development of the SMEs. He said that the government was striving for boosting the national exports  besides ensuring the extra energy (electricity ) to the industrial sector. He said that the government was also establishing as many as Economic Zones in Pakistan under the CPEC project, where all the industries will enjoying ten year long tax holiday.

He termed the SIDC as a great blessing for Sialkot-Pakistan’s sports goods industry, saying that SIDC would be helpful in modernizing the sports goods industry. It will ensure easy access of the SMEs to the advanced footballs manufacturing technologies, he said.

Meanwhile, the Sialkot based export tycoons have termed SIDC a landmark achievement of Sialkot’s sports goods industry.

They said SMEDA had ensured the easy access of Sialkot based SMEs to this modern technology at Sports Industries Development Center (SIDC) established at Sialkot besides opening the new vistas to capture in the international markets by utilizing the advanced technology.

SMEDA CEO Sher Ayub Khan added that SIDC has put the Sialkot- sports goods industry on modern lines besides enabling the Sialkot exporters to meet the global trends and challenges of footballs’ manufacturing by using the advanced technology.

The federal government has spent Rs.500 million on this project under the supervision of SMEDA. Project Director SIDC Hanif Sarwar revealed that SIDC would help develop prototype balls for Sialkot’s soccer ball industry, get their staff trained and thereby enable local manufacturers to replace their existing set up of hand stitched ball with mechanized ball.

He said that SIDC would also facilitate in sustaining Pakistan’s position in International market of inflatable balls in general and soccer ball in particular through provision of manufacturing facilities for SMEs to secure their export orders for mechanized inflatable balls, developing quality vulcanization and pasting molds, helping to develop imported machinery locally through reverse engineering.

It would also ensure IPR facilitation for Mechanized inflatable ball, besides providing assistance in setting up mechanized ball production lines in individual industrial units, he said.

SIDC Board of Directors Chairman Qaisar Iqbal Baryar said that SIDC was a core initiative in the strategy of infusing Mechanized inflatable ball technology in the sports industry of Sialkot. The installed capacity on single shift basis is 1000,000 balls per year on a single shift basis. However, it may be enhanced in two shifts depending on the need, the officials added.

Vice President of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Abid Ahmed Khawaja said that SIDC would provide the manufacturing facilities for the Sialkot SMEs to secure their export orders for mechanized inflatable balls.

SIAL Chairman Khawar Anwar Khawaja said that SIDC would also develop proto type balls for the industry besides giving necessary training of skilled workers for  Sialkot industries in mould / rubber technologies / mechanized thermo laminated balls.

It would provide assistance in setting up mechanized thermo laminated ball production lines in private industrial units, Chairman PSGMEA, he said.