ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry called upon the government to take measures for timely establishment of special economic zone in the capital under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

President ICCI Sheikh Amir Waheed said that CPEC had entered into the second phase of the long-term plan after completion of the early harvest programme.  He stressed that more focus should be given on industrial cooperation in the second phase to promote industrialisation in the country. He was talking to Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik during a meeting.

He said that local industry should get better opportunities in the SEZ that would be set up in the second phase. He said that the business community had pinned great hopes on the CPEC. He emphasized that modernisation of local industry should be the main component of the second phase in order to transform Pakistan into an industrialised country at par with developed countries. APP

Iftikhar Ali on the occasion assured of conveying demand of the ICCI for establishment of the SEZ in the capital to the relevant authorities. He said that the CPEC would touch upon all important sectors of the economy including connectivity with road and rail infrastructure, information network, energy, trade, industrial parks, agriculture, poverty alleviation and tourism with a focus on maritime tourism.

He said that apart from industrial cooperation, the CPEC long-term plan would modernise Pakistan’s agriculture sector as new agro-based technologies, seeds and irrigation mechanism would be introduced. He stressed that the enterprises from China and Pakistan should be given enhanced role in the LTP so that joint ventures and partnerships between the private sectors of Pakistan and China could be materialised to create economic benefits for both countries and for the region.