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Pakistan: Lahore Expo Centre launched |
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2004-7-22
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Ishrat Hussain, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) informed reporters on Monday last that the export center at Lahore would be completed within two years.
Speaking on the occasion of the ground-breaking ceremony of the center named Lahore Expo Centre, he said the Punjab Cooperative Bank had been given six months to convert into a micro-credit bank for disbursing cheap loans to the poor.
Chief Minister Elahi told reporters that Pakistan had experienced 43 percent growth in exports during the last fiscal year. All other countries in the world were below 33 percent. He appreciated the role of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), and said that Pakistan had achieved all its economic targets.
He said that the export centre project would be completed within the next two years and it would help local industry boost exports. He said a ring road would be established through mutual cooperation between the federal and provincial governments. He also said that the road would cost an estimated Rs 15 billion and would be complete within two years. Thousands of young people would get jobs in the trade and cultural sector as a result.
The CM said a conducive atmosphere existed for investment in the province because of the government’s business-friendly policies and it would continue to work in that direction to retain the business community’s trust.
He said the expo centre would give exporters and industrialists an opportunity to display their products under a single roof.
He added that it would prove to be a great platform for displaying Pakistani products, which would go a long way in benefiting industrialists and strengthening the economy.
In his speech, the chief minister said the government would set up a ‘Garment City’ in Lahore to promote the textile industry, aiming to increase productivity in the garment sector by apprising investors and garments exporters about the latest changes in the global market.
He said the business community should not aim for profits only, but should also keep increasing standards so Pakistani products, when World Trade Organisation (WTO) policies are implemented in 2005, would become well known in terms of quality and price. He hoped the business community would meet the challenges of the new era and come up to the expectations of the government and the public.
Elahi said he hoped ‘Made in Pakistan’ would become a symbol of quality akin to the state of ‘Made in Japan’ label at the moment in international market. He said the government had eliminated the negative culture of revenge politics and ushered in an era of collective development.
The chief minister also announced the construction of a five-kilometre dual carriageway up to the expo centre, to be paid for by the Punjab government.
Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan, Punjab Trade and Industrial Minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mian Anjum Nisar also addressed the participants. Other officials and leading businessmen participated in the ceremony. |
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