PESHAWAR - The Industrialists’ Association Peshawar (IAP) President Zarak Khattak has criticized the provincial government for not implementing Industrial Policy announcing in 2015.
A press release on Thursday said that FPCCI out-going president Ghazanfar Bilour formally handed over the IAP to newly elected President, Zarak Khan Khattak at Hayatabad Industrial Estate Peshawar.
Senior leaders of the business community Senator Nauman Wazir, Illyas Bilour and Senator Mohsin Aziz were also present at the occasion.
IAP was officially handed over to the new cabinet, which consisted of Zarak Khattak (President), Ayub Zakori (SVP) and Harris Mufti (VP).
The new IAP president was quick to come hard on the provincial government for not implementing the Industrial Policy. He said that the policy was announced 3 year ago, in which the industrialists were shown a rosy picture. The policy stated a 5percent markup rebate, 25 percent rebate in electricity and the same rebate in transport.
KP-EZDMC a brand new organization was formed to implement the same.
Furthermore, this organization, was supposed to increase the speed of on-going works in the Industrial Estates and also develop Hattar Phase 7 within a record time of two years.
However, till date not a single rupee has been given in the form of rebate to any single industrialist of the province.
“The political government has not only allocated but also transferred Rs700million to KP EZDMC for the rebates; however the same is being used to pay extremely high salaries and expenses of the extremely lavish offices of KP-EZDMC. The organization hasn’t achieved anything in the one window operation either; the industrialists’ have to deal with EPA, labour, industry, Pesco, SNGPL and all other department separately,” he said.
Zarak said that the Hattar Industrial Estate which was promised to be completed in December 2017, has yet required another two years for completion.
“It will take two years to plan and execute the 132kV 46 km transmission line between Burhan and Hattar. Even the ongoing road of Industrial Estate Peshawar, which SDA was supposed to handover in 30 June, 2018, is now going to be delivered after that deadline,” he said.
“The situation has only worsened. People have already invested billions of rupees in Hattar, however that will all be stagnant because of the incompetence of people handling this,” he said. “Peshawar Industrial Estate has almost no gas pressures although we are gas producing province,” Zarak said. “The present government has lost a lot of credibility in the eyes of the business community. However, there is still time and hope is not lost,” he said.
The present government has two months to left. If the pending case of incentives, money to be paid to SNGPL for gas pipeline and pending bills of the contractors are paid, many problems will be resolved within days, Zarak said.
The industrialists present on the occasion agreed with views of the president.
Riaz Arshad, an industrialist of the estate, said “This new cabinet of our IAP is a very young and energetic team. We have given the youngsters a chance as they are talented and have the energy.”